Kanye West's Skirt, A History [VIDEO]

Kanye West wore a skirt, or more accurately, a leather kilt, during his “12.12.12” Hurricane Sandy benefit concert performance Wednesday night. Kanye West's skirt became an immediate sensation as many asked the question, “Why?” Well, it turns out it's not the first time Kanye has worn a skirt, not even the first time he's done it at Madison Square Garden.

Kanye West's skirt went viral almost immediately: YouTube videos were posted, Twitter was abuzz with questions and many were just puzzled about Kanye's choice of outfit. The skirt even has its own parody Twitter account, meaning it has officially crossed into the cultural Zeitgeist.

Kanye West's skirt may have been the talk of the “12.12.12” Hurricane Sandy concert at Madison Square Garden, but it's not the first time he's has worn such an outfit. In fact, he wore it rather recently and on another high profile concert event.

During the 2011 “Watch the Throne” tour, where he performed alongside Jay-Z, Kanye West wore the same skirt he did during “12.12.12.” The now infamous skirt is a part of the Givenchy's Spring Summer 2012 collection, notes BET. During the “Watch the Throne” tour, Kanye wore it, along with leather skinny jeans.

In the VOYR video, which you can view below, of backstage footage during the “Watch the Throne” tour, cameras caught up with Kanye backstage at Madison Square Garden. Looking in the mirror, he says, “It took me seven shows to finally feel comfortable with just doing the outright kilt.”

Kanye's skirt drew plenty of criticism and attention in 2011 and once again in 2012. The biggest difference this time was that he was not performing to an audience that is completely familiar with him.

Many viewers, and concertgoers, watching the “12.12.12” benefit concert were interested in older acts like Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones or Paul McCartney. It's a different audience than the one Kanye is used to, and being broadcast to more than 2 billion people across the world, chances are there would be at least a few comments about Kanye's skirt.

While Kanye has worn a skirt before, twice now at Madison Square Garden, don't expect him to bust it out again following all the attention.