NEW YORK — Grammy-winning artist Kanye West and renowned photographer Barnaby Roper have produced an erotically charged video short to promote and capture the seductive allure of Polish supermodel Anja Rubik's newly launched fashion magazine "25."
Rubik, 29, befriended West after meeting the hip-hop fashionista at numerous runway shows. "He’s like a machine, not only with music but also with fashion and videos," she told NYMag.com. ""It’s funny. We talked about porn looks these days, and he agreed with me that there's no porn out there that is beautiful aesthetically and integrates fashion to make a beautiful image."
For the premiere issue of "25," Rubik decided to look at erotica from a woman's perspective, drawing inspiration from adult publishing icon Bob Guccione's '70s periodical "Viva: The International Magazine for Women."
"I thought it was so beautiful and innocent, and very sensual and erotic, but all in very good taste," she said. "What happened to all of that? Nowadays, sex and nudity is either so vulgar or so prude. So I wanted to create something inspiring, and beautiful, and sensual, to get people to think in a different way."
Enter West, who Rubik described as being "on the same page." The video, which features snapshots of sex, bondage and blood, is a journey into the rapper's head. "It's not pornographic, but it's very sensual," Rubik said.
