Kanye West wears controversial 'White Lives Matter' top at surprise fashion show

Kanye West has been criticised on social media after being photographed wearing a "White Lives Matter" t-shirt for his Yeezy collection at Paris Fashion Week.

The rapper, now legally known as Ye, held a last minute, exclusive show on Monday with 100 guests of which, according to organisers, "a big part (was made up) of Ye’s friends.”

His models in the show were seen wearing the t-shirts along the runway.

Conservative commentator Candace Owens, who attended the show, posted a photo on Twitter standing next to the rapper with the words "White Lives Matter" written on the back of their t-shirts.

After the show on Tuesday, Ye posted "Everyone knows that Black Lives Matter was a scam" on his Instagram story.

"Now it's over," it read. "You're welcome."

The Anti Defamation League defines the term "White Lives Matter" as a white supremacist phrase "that originated in early 2015 as a racist response to the Black Lives Matter movement which arose to protest against police brutality against African-Americans and garnered considerable publicity in 2014 for protests in Ferguson, Missouri, following the shooting death of Michael Brown at the hands of a Ferguson police officer."

Rapper and actor Jaden Smith was spotted leaving the show mid-way by some fans and he afterwards tweeted: "I Don’t Care Who’s It Is If I Don’t Feel The Message I’m Out".

"Black Lives Matter," the actor added in a tweet.

Large crowds gathered outside the surprise show and waited for the doors to open in Paris.

The rapper has been been seen all over Paris Fashion Week.

He walked as a model in Balenciaga’s ready-to-wear show - a turn designer Demna Gvasalia called an “iconic moment.” Then the rapper was since seen at Givenchy’s collection facing the rain and wearing a provocative Balenciaga-branded black tooth brace.

Paris Fashion Week runs through until October 4.