But should we be so surprised? Perhaps the sight of Kardashian, 43, barely able to walk up the stairs – let alone breathe – at the glittering A-list event is altogether expected, considering she is a billionaire whose brand is based around a distortion of ideal femininity, verging on the grotesque. She’s certainly pushed boundaries at previous events.
To my mind, though, this is her most shocking look yet. Only… not in the way she might have hope.
In a silver John Galliano corset-style dress that cinched her waist to an impossible degree, Kardashian took fashion to the extreme – and then pushed it (and herself) right over the edge. I found it painful to watch the footage of her struggling to smile – it looked like she might pass out at any moment.
It’s not her first rodeo – for more than a decade, Kardashian has served up controversial looks; many of which appear anatomically impossible. You might remember that back in 2019, the Skims shapewear founder brought designer Thierry Mugler out of retirement to create the rib-cracking restrictive “wet dress” outfit, which she later said had left temporary marks on her body and admitted: “I have never felt pain like that in my life.”
The nude latex dress, inspired by Raquel Welch’s see-through shirt in the 1957 film Boy On A Dolphin, once again featured a barely there waist and carved Kardashian’s body into a spectacular (and spectacularly unnatural) hourglass shape. The outfit became the most talked about costume of the evening. But what is it doing for women?
I would argue that Kardashian has a responsibility, here. Yes, she shows grit, daring, and tenacity – she’s clearly not averse to suffering for fashion or publicity (she had to be trained to sit in the Mugler dress and was unable to go to the toilet) – but what message is this sending to other women and young girls? It’s 2024 – should we really be showing off waists small enough to fit your hand around; women reduced to grimacing, gurning versions of themselves who can’t eat, speak or do anything but stand there and be admired? Isn’t a body “ideal” as small as this, in fact, dangerous?
Recordings of last night’s red-carpet appearance show Kardashian looking distinctly uncomfortable. The still shots from the evening may be glamorous, but the reality looks painful. Her waist has been pulled in so tight that her vital organs look like they have been displaced. In some clips from the evening, she looks genuinely ill. Kardashian’s body must have felt like raw meat after last night’s event. Never has a hoodie and joggers seemed so appealing.
