Another day, another leotard. Or so goes the dress code for Bianca Censori, the long-suffering wife of rapper Kanye West, 48. Over the weekend, his wife of four years was spotted at the Chateau Marmont hotel in Los Angeles in a metallic bodysuit, cut low at the front, high at the leg and narrow at the chest, the better to expose a generous helping of side boob.
In fact, this was a fairly chaste look from the 31-year-old whose Instagram bio describes her as an ‘architectural designer’. In February, she strolled the streets of Los Angeles in a microscopic skirt and bra that was several sizes too small, causing her cups to runneth over.
Last May, she enjoyed an ice cream in Mallorca, Spain, dressed in a fishnet top that exposed her nipples, as you do. Other favourite looks include sheer tights worn without knickers, transparent nylon bodystockings, duct tape over her nipples and a leotard that gave vivid new illustration to the expression ‘camel toe’.
Come rain or shine, Censori can always be relied upon to serve up ‘looks’. Who these looks are actually serving, however, is a matter of debate.
A shameless self-publicist, West knows exactly how extreme he needs to be to grab attention in a world where so many others are competing for it. Nudity is one of the few things that still shocks.
While the 48-year-old rapper conveniently keeps himself covered up in a succession of baggy black sweatpants and hoodies, his wife’s outfits frequently teeter on the edge of being unlawful. While it’s not illegal to wear lingerie in public in the US – laws focus on exposing private parts and intent to arouse or offend, rather than on specific garments – it can still lead to arrest under public indecency laws.
As for the argument that Censori’s near-nudity is an artistic or feminist statement, that might have more credence if she didn’t always look so miserable and even scared.
Bianca Censori wore a low-cut bodysuit, with a generous helping of side boob, to Chateau Marmont hotel in Los Angeles – a fairly chaste look compared with some of her past ensembles
Censori's husband, Kanye West, knows exactly how to grab attention, and nudity is one of the few things that still shocks. (Pictured together at the Grammy Awards last year)
In February, she strolled the streets of Los Angeles in a microscopic skirt and bra that was several sizes too small, causing her cups to runneth over, writes Laura Craik
It’s hard to believe it was her idea to wear a transparent bodystocking to the 2025 Grammy Awards. It’s harder still to imagine she chose to board a boat in Venice in 2023 dressed in an outfit that revealed her bare buttocks. After being photographed with her head near West’s lap, many speculated that she’d engaged in a lewd sex act.
Some opine however, that rather than being a victim, Censori is a savvy publicity-seeker and architect of her own image. While this is the argument used by West’s loyal fans, Censori herself would seem to feel otherwise. She very rarely speaks publicly, but in an interview with Vanity Fair in February, she revealed that her aunt had been present on the boat in Venice, adding: ‘It was the first time I was really embarrassed. I felt embarrassed because of my dad.’
As the relationship rumbles on, rumours persist that it’s not a marriage of equals. Certainly to the outside eye, it bears many of the hallmarks of coercive control, a form of abuse in which one person exerts power over another. Methods include isolating the victim from family or friends, monitoring their whereabouts and behaviour, and controlling what they eat, wear, spend or do.
At first, the perpetrator is usually charming – this is known as the ‘love bombing’ phase – but after the bonds are forged, the mask is dropped.
Brought up in an affluent neighbourhood in Melbourne, Australia, the privately schooled, university-educated Censori might seem too intelligent to be controlled by anyone, even a man as famous and persuasive as West. But anyone can become a victim of coercive control, a form of abuse that is no respecter of age, race, wealth or status. In 2021, politician Kate Griffiths successfully prosecuted her husband, Tory MP Andrew Griffiths, after suffering from years of coercive and controlling behaviour.
And then there’s Kim Kardashian, to whom West was married between 2014 and 2021. The billionaire Skims founder has spoken on several occasions about West’s predilection for controlling her image. In an interview with US chat show host David Letterman in 2020, when the couple were still married, she detailed how, early in their relationship, he revamped her wardrobe and got rid of most of her clothes.
In an episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians in 2022, she told her sister, Kourtney, that West had told her she could no longer wear ‘big glasses’, adding: ‘He told me my career was over, and then he showed me a picture of Marge Simpson wearing something similar.’
She also admitted that she grew so used to West telling her what to wear that she started to have panic attacks following the divorce, tearily confessing: ‘I got to a point where I would ask him for advice for everything.’
West and Censori's relationship bears the hallmarks of coercive control – a form of abuse in which one person exerts power over another, observes Laura Craik. (Pictured in Milan, 2024)
Some US states recognise coercive control as a form of illegal domestic abuse – including California, where West and Censori live. (Pictured together at Paris Fashion Week in 2024)
Often referred to as ‘invisible abuse’, coercive control was made illegal in England and Wales in 2015, thereby criminalising abusive behaviour designed to punish, intimidate, or control a partner or family member. It carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, but it’s still very difficult to prove. According to data from the Office for National Statistics, there were 49,557 offences of coercive control recorded by police in the year ending March 2025. While 4,955 charges were brought in 2024, only 832 men and 21 women were convicted.
Campaigners say that coercive control is under-recognised, poorly understood and routinely overlooked, not just by juries but by judges, many of whom haven’t been trained to recognise the signs, resulting in it being sidelined in court.
One woman campaigning to raise awareness is Sharon Holland, whose 23-year-old daughter, Chloe, took her own life in 2023 after suffering abuse from her partner. This week Holland pointed out that juries still fail to understand the ‘psychological torture’ of coercive control.
In the US, coercive control is not a federal crime, but some states recognise it as a form of illegal domestic abuse – including California, where West and Censori have a sprawling £26million mansion.
Who knows whether Censori is with West out of love or something more sinister. But if she’s looking for reasons to leave, the list is long – and growing by the day.
In addition to his frequent anti-Semitic remarks, West has praised Hitler, opined that slavery is a choice and, though he has apologised, had the temerity to blame some of his comments on his bipolar disorder.
His latest stunt? A tour of Russia. Earlier this month, concerns about his antisemitism led to a three-day headline slot at London’s Wireless Festival being cancelled after the Home Office revoked his permit to travel to the UK. But West believes the show must go on – even in a country currently under US, UK and EU economic sanctions.
Current advice from the US State Department on Russia is ‘do not travel for any reason’. ‘US citizens are at risk due to terrorism, unrest, wrongful detention and other threats.’
What the Russians will make of Censori’s risque wardrobe remains to be seen. But those concerned about her can only hope that West’s latest plan will give her the impetus to do what she should have done long ago, and finally send him to Siberia.