How the Kardashians Became Fashion Week A-Listers

The Kardashians speaking at the Apple Store. (Photo: Getty)

It wasn’t that long ago that the Kardashians were a joke. Barbara Walters famously told the Kardashians during an on-camera interview: “You don’t have any, forgive me, talent.“ Jon Hamm once told ELLE UK: “Whether it’s Paris Hilton or Kim Kardashian or whoever, stupidity is certainly celebrated. Being a fucking idiot is a valuable commodity in this culture because you’re rewarded significantly.”

The fashion world wasn’t initially accepting of the clan either. Despite her love for fashion, Kim’s first magazine cover involved wearing very little when she was on the 2007 cover of Playboy. Together with her husband Kanye she made it to the cover of the ultimate fashion bible in 2014. At the time, Sarah Michelle Gellar tweeted, “Well … I guess I’m canceling my Vogue subscription. Who is with me???” Model Kendall’s entry into the fashion world was equally judged harshly. When she started modeling, fellow model Charlotte McKinney told a news station, “A lot of girls have been working in this industry for years, and struggling and [Kendall and Ireland] walk in one day because of their last name, but whatever, if people like them, then let them do it.”

Bella Thorne, Kylie Jenner, and Serayah McNeill at New York Fashion Week. (Photo: Getty)

However, despite the backlash to their insane amount of fame and propensity for complete oversharing, they have completely owned New York Fashion Week this year. Love it or hate it, they are the ultimate insiders now. Kendall is now a bonafide supermodel, serving as a muse for Karl Lagerfeld and walking in shows for brands like Chanel, Givenchy, Michael Kors, Fendi, Vera Wang, Alexander Wang, and Oscar De La Renta. Kanye West just showed his second collection at New York Fashion Week, collaborating with acclaimed performance artist Vanessa Beecroft. Kylie Jenner is coming out with her own beauty line (#KylieLipKit), including a dark lip color she wore to New York Fashion Week. This week, the Kardashian Klan also launched their individual iOS apps — Kylie’s taking number one on the charts — and spoke at the Apple Store in New York City’s SoHo. Not all of their pursuits have been successful; Kim’s Rizzoli book, Selfie, sold dismally in spite of its hype, but the family’s rise to the front row and runways of fashion week is a story about persistence and thick skin. “Whatever you post is going to last for a long time,” Khloe said at the Apple Store. “So make sure you are going to stand by everything you’re posting, because your brand is a reflection of yourself.”

Kendall Jenner closing the Michael Kors spring 2016 show. (Photo: Getty)

While none of the Kardashians have notable musical or acting chops — unless we include lyrically brilliant West in the group — they’ve pioneered a form of performance that has radically changed the landscape of entertainment: the performance of social media. In the past, especially in pre-paparazzi times, celebrities maintained a distance from the general public and media, except in carefully orchestrated appearances. The Kardashians’ contribution to the world of fame is bringing you as close to their bosoms as possible — in fact, in one of the videos in Kylie’s new app, she explains that she credits Victoria’s Secret Bombshell Bra for giving her a bustier appearance. Appearance-wise, there are no secrets between us and the Kardashians — even though Kylie was secretive about her lip injections for a few months, she eventually came out about her Juvederm treatments — to The Paper of Record, The New York Times.

The Kardashians at Kanye West’s Spring 2016 show. (Photo: Twitter)

Being open to the public, however, has largely been the antithesis to how the high fashion industry holds onto its cachet and allure. It-accessories label, Mansur Gavriel, for example, creates the appearance of high demand by limiting production. Vogue editor in chief Anna Wintour is famous for being tight-lipped — she doesn’t need to be making regular interview appearances to demonstrate the amount of influence she has on the industry. And while it seems like every fashion model signed to a legitimate agency has at least 10,000 followers on Instagram these days, there was a time when most of them were just considered silent mannequins without a public personality. Kendall, signed with The Society Management, has over 36 million Instagram followers as of press time — Naomi Campbell has a relatively 1.9 million as of press time. That doesn’t mean the Kardashians aren’t orchestrated and heavily controlling in their public image, of course — the new allure is in how flawless Kim or Kendall or Kylie look in even their most blurry selfie.

Kanye West and Kim Kardashian, wearing custom Givenchy, sitting front row at the Givenchy Spring 2016 show. (Photo: Getty)

When Kim appeared on the November 2010 cover of W, editor in chief Stefani Tonchi defended his editorial decision: “We thought that Kim provided a vehicle to critically approach popular culture and how reality TV was transforming the business of making TV shows, altering the cultural landscape in America, and subsequently in the world at large. […] It is still one of our most successful covers at the newsstand and it has been a gift that keeps giving on our website.” When Caitlyn Jenner took Vanity Fair’s cover by storm, fashion director Jessica Diehl commented, “Everything looks good on her. That just doesn’t happen.” This New York Fashion Week, Kim and Kanye and baby style icon North West sat front row at shows like Givenchy, Kendall closed the Michael Kors show, and Kylie bonded with celebrated starlets like Hailee Steinfeld and Bella Thorne. You can’t avoid them if you follow pop culture by any means — and the truth is, they seem like they’re having a really good time doing whatever it is they do. That’s more than can be said about the many glum-faced fashion editors sitting alongside them on the front row.

Related:

Kim Kardashian West’s Weekend of Perfect Makeup (and Clothes)

Diane von Furstenberg Puts Kendall Jenner, Gigi Hadid, and Girl Power Center Stage at New York Fashion Week

Kylie Jenner’s New Website and App Have Arrived