After a controversial couple of years’ worth of looks - first, her all black Balenciaga look which drew a few Dementor comparisons, next, her infamous abduction and subsequent damaging of Marilyn Monroe’s Mr President dress from Ripley’s (in 2016 becoming the most expensive dress sold at auction for $4.8 million) - Kim Kardashian finally decided to play it safe at the 2023 Met Gala.
The reality star and business woman arrived at the themed event, which is inspired this year by the late ex-Chanel creative director Karl Lagerfeld, decked out in thousands of pearls, cascading from neck to knee. For beauty, Kardashian opted for her classic smoky eye look, plenty of blush and a shimmering nude lip.
The dress, which also featured a champagne coloured, figure-cinching bodice and ivory shawl, layered like a croissant and long enough to form a full train behind Kardashian, was designed by Daniel Roseberry for Schiaparelli and featured over 50,000 real pearls.
“I thought, what is Karl?” she told Vogue interviewers on the red (well, technically, cream) carpet last night, “You know, the iconic Chanel pearls is what I always thought of, so we wanted to just be dripping in pearls.”
Sure, 50,000 pearls might not sound like playing it safe, especially considering some had already started to fall off in her journey over (“[North] was putting them all in her purse,” Kardashian said in her interview) but it’s actually familiar territory for Kim, who wore a similar look for her Playboy photoshoot way back in 2007, where she posed nude, bar layers of pearls hanging from her torso.
Kim was kept company by her sisters and daughter North West, who all got ready together for the event and did shots in the hotel - though Kim didn’t disclose the specific alcohol, we’re guessing it was her sister Kendall’s 818 tequila - ahead of their arrival.
“This year I just wanted to feel glamorous, I really didn’t feel the pressure, I just wanted to have a good time,” she told interviewers, sharing later how she was “emotional” thinking of her sister Kendall’s modelling journey with Karl Lagerfeld and her own experience with the designer. “I mean, my first fashion shoot ever, Karl shot it,” she said, “it’s so special.”
Kardashian was also pictured speaking to her recent ex, the comedian Pete Davidson, who she attended the Met Gala with last year. The pair looked cheery in photos from inside the event, smiling and talking side by side in a conversation with musician Usher.
Her breakup with Davidson is expected to feature in the newest series of The Kardashians on Disney+, which last season showed behind the scenes footage of Kardashian prepping for her highly controversial 2022 Met Gala appearance.
Charting that trajectory, it looks like next season we’ll learn a little more about those 50,000 pearls and hotel room shots.
