Kanye West Is Irrationally Afraid of 3-D Printing

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This weekend's episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians featured a rare cameo from Kim's husband Kanye West. West used his camera time to visit Armenia's Tumo Centre for Creative Technologies where he fretted that developing 3-D printing technology would destroy the fashion industry.

West compares the capabilities of 3-D printing to the havoc the Internet wreaked on the music industry. "This is what I'm afraid of... Because the Internet destroyed the music industry and now, this is what we're afraid of right now with the textile industry," the rapper said when shown the 3-D printers. "There will come a time when people are making their shoes at home."

West could not be consoled even when the tour guide pointed out that you'd still need to be a designer to truly create anything worthwhile. It's a surprisingly averse reaction from a designer who has preached on the behalf of the democratization of fashion. Plus, the fears are mostly misplaced. Dazed points out that cotton fibers cannot be created by the printer and being able to use the technology to produce clothing is at least a couple decades away.