HAVE THE KARDASHIANS RAISED THEIR STANDARDS?
FAME AND THE NEW DEFINITION OF STATUS
FOR ALMOST TWO DECADES, THE KARDASHIAN-JENNER FAMILY BUILT AN EMPIRE AROUND ONE POWERFUL IDEA:
IMAGE IS CURRENCY.
THE EXAGGERATED HOURGLASS SILHOUETTE. THE TINY WAIST. THE SCULPTED FACE. THE BODYCON DRESS. THE CONTOURING. THE NUDE PALETTE. THE PERFECTLY CONTROLLED INSTAGRAM IMAGE. THE KARDASHIAN BODY WAS NOT SIMPLY A BODY. IT BECAME A FASHION AND BEAUTY LANGUAGE. BUT TODAY, SOMETHING SEEMS TO BE CHANGING.
KENDALL JENNER LINKED WITH JACOB ELORDI.
KIM KARDASHIAN CONNECTED WITH LEWIS HAMILTON.
KYLIE JENNER WITH TIMOTHÉE CHALAMET.
THREE VERY DIFFERENT MEN, BUT ALL CARRYING SOMETHING IMPORTANT: ESTABLISHED CAREERS, GLOBAL RECOGNITION AND IDENTITIES COMPLETELY INDEPENDENT FROM THE KARDASHIAN MACHINE.
SO HAVE THE KARDASHIANS RAISED THEIR STANDARDS?
PERHAPS NOT MORALLY.
BUT AESTHETICALLY AND SOCIALLY, THEIR DEFINITION OF STATUS APPEARS TO BE EVOLVING.
FROM BODYCON TO CULTURAL CAPITAL
THE KARDASHIAN ERA CHANGED FASHION.
THINK BACK TO ITS STRONGEST CODES:
SKIN-TIGHT DRESSES.
CORSETED WAISTS.
NUDE TONES.
LATEX.
CUT-OUTS.
LEGGINGS.
BODY SCULPTING.
EXTREMELY HIGH HEELS.
HEAVY GLAMOUR.
THE CLOTHES WERE DESIGNED TO EMPHASISE THE BODY. EVERYTHING POINTED BACK TO THE SILHOUETTE. KIM KARDASHIAN BECAME ONE OF THE DEFINING SYMBOLS OF THE HYPER-CURVACEOUS FEMALE FIGURE, WHILE KYLIE TRANSFORMED BEAUTY INTO AN ENTIRE COMMERCIAL IDENTITY.
THE MESSAGE WAS SIMPLE:
YOUR BODY IS YOUR STATEMENT.
BUT FASHION HAS CHANGED. AND INTERESTINGLY, SO HAVE THEY. TODAY WE SEE MUCH MORE RESTRAINT.
MORE TAILORING.
MORE MINIMALISM.
MORE VINTAGE REFERENCES.
MORE ARCHIVAL FASHION.
MORE QUIET LUXURY.
MORE EMPHASIS ON THE QUALITY AND CULTURAL RELEVANCE OF WHAT IS BEING WORN RATHER THAN SIMPLY HOW MUCH BODY IS BEING SHOWN.
KYLIE AND TIMOTHÉE: FROM INSTAGRAM GLAMOUR TO AWARDS-SEASON FASHION
KYLIE JENNER’S RELATIONSHIP WITH TIMOTHÉE CHALAMET CREATED AN UNUSUAL CULTURAL CROSSOVER.
KYLIE CAME FROM THE WORLD OF BEAUTY EMPIRES, SOCIAL MEDIA, BODY-CONSCIOUS DRESSING AND REALITY TELEVISION.
TIMOTHÉE BELONGS TO CINEMA, AWARDS SEASON AND THE FASHION-INTELLECTUAL WORLD OF HOLLYWOOD. AND KYLIE’S IMAGE BEGAN SHIFTING ACCORDINGLY. INSTEAD OF CONSTANTLY SEEING HER IN OVERTLY SEXY INSTAGRAM LOOKS, WE INCREASINGLY SEE HER IN MORE SOPHISTICATED EVENINGWEAR, CLEANER SILHOUETTES, COUTURE-INSPIRED GOWNS AND RESTRAINED STYLING. THE CLOTHES REMAIN GLAMOROUS. BUT THEY FEEL LESS LIKE “LOOK AT MY BODY” AND MORE LIKE:
“I BELONG ON THIS RED CARPET.”
THAT IS A SIGNIFICANT FASHION SHIFT.
KENDALL JENNER: THE QUIET-LUXURY KARDASHIAN
KENDALL HAS ALWAYS OCCUPIED A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT FASHION WORLD FROM HER SISTERS.
AS A MODEL, SHE HAS HAD DIRECT ACCESS TO HIGH FASHION, RUNWAY CULTURE AND DESIGNERS. HER RECENT IMAGE IS EVEN MORE RESTRAINED.
SIMPLE TROUSERS.
MINIMAL DRESSES.
THE ROW.
BOTTEGA VENETA.
VINTAGE PIECES.
CLEAN TAILORING.
NEUTRAL COLOURS.
PERFECTLY CUT BASICS.
IT IS A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT LANGUAGE FROM THE HYPER-GLAMOROUS KARDASHIAN LOOK OF TEN YEARS AGO. NOTHING NEEDS TO SCREAM. THE QUALITY OF THE GARMENT DOES THE WORK.
THE AESTHETIC SAYS:
I DON’T NEED A LOGO TO PROVE STATUS. AND CULTURALLY, THAT IS EXACTLY WHERE LUXURY FASHION HAS BEEN MOVING.
KIM kARDASHIAN: FROM BODY SPECTACLE TO FASHION AUTHORITY
KIM’S TRANSFORMATION MAY BE THE MOST INTERESTING OF ALL. HER EARLY FASHION IDENTITY WAS ALMOST ENTIRELY BASED ON CURVES.
BANDAGE DRESSES, PLUNGING NECKLINES, TIGHT SKIRTS AND DRAMATIC SILHOUETTES DOMINATED HER IMAGE.
THEN CAME THE BALMAIN ERA.
THEN KANYE WEST’S INFLUENCE AND THE YEEZY MINIMALISM PERIOD.
THEN BALENCIAGA.
THEN ARCHIVAL FASHION.
THEN MARILYN MONROE.
THEN DOLCE & GABBANA.
KIM GRADUALLY MOVED FROM BEING SOMEBODY WHO WORE FASHION TO SOMEBODY ACTIVELY TRYING TO POSITION HERSELF INSIDE FASHION HISTORY.
THAT IS AN IMPORTANT DISTINCTION.
SHE NO LONGER SIMPLY WANTS THE HOTTEST DRESS. SHE WANTS THE REFERENCE. THE ARCHIVE. THE DESIGNER RELATIONSHIP. THE FASHION CREDIBILITY.
AND A FIGURE LIKE LEWIS HAMILTON FITS PERFECTLY INTO THAT EVOLUTION.
HAMILTON HIMSELF HAS BECOME DEEPLY ASSOCIATED WITH FASHION, LUXURY HOUSES, FRONT ROWS AND MAJOR GLOBAL EVENTS.
THIS ISN’T SIMPLY CELEBRITY DATING CELEBRITY.
VISUALLY, IT READS AS:
FASHION POWER MEETS SPORTING POWER.
HAVE THEIR STANDARDS CHANGED?
IT WOULD BE SIMPLISTIC TO SAY THAT HOLLYWOOD ACTORS OR FORMULA ONE DRIVERS ARE SOMEHOW “BETTER” THAN RAPPERS, MUSICIANS OR BASKETBALL PLAYERS.
PROFESSION DOES NOT EQUAL MORALITY.
WHAT HAS CHANGED IS THE TYPE OF CULTURAL STATUS BEING PROJECTED.
THE EARLIER KARDASHIAN WORLD WAS CLOSELY CONNECTED WITH HIP-HOP CULTURE, NIGHTLIFE, SPORTS, OVERT SEXUALITY AND CONSPICUOUS CELEBRITY.
THE NEWER IMAGE FEELS MORE CONNECTED TO:
PRESTIGE CINEMA.
FASHION HOUSES.
AWARDS CULTURE.
GLOBAL LUXURY.
ARCHIVAL FASHION.
PRIVATE TRAVEL.
ESTABLISHED INSTITUTIONS.
DISCREET WEALTH.
THAT IS NOT NECESSARILY A MORAL UPGRADE.
IT IS A SOCIAL AND AESTHETIC REPOSITIONING.
FASHION ALWAYS REVEALS THE SHIFT FIRST
FASHION USUALLY TELLS US WHERE CULTURE IS MOVING BEFORE ANYONE SAYS IT ALOUD.
THE KARDASHIAN AESTHETIC ONCE REPRESENTED EXCESS.
MORE CURVES.
MORE MAKEUP.
MORE EXPOSURE.
MORE LOGOS.
MORE ATTENTION.
TODAY LUXURY INCREASINGLY MEANS SOMETHING DIFFERENT:
CRAFT.
TAILORING.
HERITAGE.
KNOWLEDGE.
DISCRETION.
INDIVIDUALITY.
CONFIDENCE.
AND PERHAPS THEIR ROMANTIC CHOICES ARE BEGINNING TO REFLECT EXACTLY THE SAME TRANSFORMATION.
THE FAMILY THAT ONCE BUILT AN EMPIRE AROUND BEING LOOKED AT MAY NOW BE ENTERING A PHASE WHERE BEING TAKEN SERIOUSLYMATTERS MORE.
FOR YEARS THE MESSAGE WAS:
LOOK AT OUR BODIES.
TODAY IT FEELS CLOSER TO:
LOOK AT OUR TASTE.
LOOK AT OUR WORLD.
LOOK WHERE WE BELONG.
AND PERHAPS THAT IS THE MOST INTERESTING KARDASHIAN REBRAND OF ALL.
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