Kanye West to Become Fashion Design Intern

"I am gonna take a bit of time off starting next year and just do an internship and maybe hang around some of my designer friends and learn," West said. "Because I wanna deliver great art to the world. I wanna deliver something that inspires other designers, not something that's like, 'Oh, he's just making money off his name'."

West told The Back Room US designer Marc Jacobs was one of his many fashion heroes.

"He transcends high end to accessibility, he transcends homosexual to heterosexual, he transcends black to white, he transcends Japan to US. He's very important. He's pop culture. You have to give credit to the Steven Spielbergs, Will Smiths, Marc Jacobs who have penetrated pop culture."

"I was blown away from the planet when he told me," Simons told Times. "I know he's very serious about this -- I don't take it as a joke -- but how can I imagine him being my intern? It's a very extreme situation."

Last year it was reported that he was at work on a jewelry collection with the Japanese artist Takashi Murakami and, more recently, a men’s shoe line for Louis Vuitton. And when it comes to his own clothing label, Past Tell (formerly known as Pastelle), he is a perfectionist. Mr. West has described the line as “a mix of Marc Jacobs, Polo and American Apparel,” and waiting for its debut (which he has said will occur early next year — nearly three years after it was originally slated to hit stores) is like waiting for Godot.