Lorde's Stage Designer Says Kanye West & Kid Cudi Didn't Steal The Set Idea

In an odd twist of events, designer and artist Es Devlin, who worked on Lorde's stage set, has denied claims that the pop star came up with the idea or that Kid Cudi and Kanye West ripped her off with just a few social media posts. 

"The idea of a floating glass box, of course, is not in any way new and the geometry precedes all of us. The form finds another layer of resonance in each new context. I did not design the recent Kids See Ghosts performance: I worked with Lorde on the design for her Coachella performance," Devlin captioned the post of her 2007 show at the English National Opera with a similar stage set-up. "I admire both and see no imitation at work here: I think the more interesting point is that both artists, responding to our dis-jointed times, are being drawn to this gesture of the fragile floating room: the world un-moored from gravity : where the rules of civilisation and identity as we have known them may soon no longer apply."

In case you didn't hear, the New Zealand pop star took to Instagram on Monday (November 12) and claimed Cudi and West's recent stage set-up of their Camp Flog Gnaw performance stole inspiration from her own stage. "I'm proud of the work I do and it's flattering when other artists feel inspired by it, to the extent that they choose to try it on themselves. But don't steal -- not from women or anyone else -- not in 2018 or ever," the 22-year-old wrote.

Interestingly enough, Devlin has worked with Yeezy in the past on massive sets for his "Glow in the Dark Tour," "Watch the Throne Tour," "The YEEZUS Tour" and "Saint Pablo Tour," but as she said, she did not collaborate with him on the recent Camp Flog Gnaw performance.

If that wasn't enough, Trask House, the design company that did work on the Kids See Ghosts performance denied Lorde's claim in an e-mail to the NYT. "[Lorde] wasn't the first person to use a floating glass box, she won’t be the last. She doesn’t own it, her designer didn’t invent it," John McGuire wrote. "Cubes and floating aren't new to Kanye West, stage design or architecture. A quick google of floating glass box brings up many instances of suspended glass cubes."

Photo: Getty Images


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