Kendall Jenner’s Optical Illusion Dress Is a Nod to Kim Kardashian
Kendall Jenner’s look at the 2022 CFDA Awards last week is a perfect example of how her taste often differs greatly from that of her sisters. While Kim, Kylie, and Khloé all wore figure-hugging dresses that were see-through, had high slits, and allowed for some under-boob cleavage, Kendall went for a much more demure look in a very simple, white sequin dress from Khaite. Her sisters often opt for the body-hugging pieces, something that, while Jenner has absolutely dabbled in over the years, has never been her go-to. But on Thursday night, Jenner stepped out in a dress that was pretty atypical for the model, and seemingly could have been plucked right from Kim’s closet.
As the creative director of luxury retailer FWRD, Jenner spent her night celebrating the launch of Jean Paul Gaultier on the platform. Of course, this meant Jenner had to wear Gaultier for the event, and she had a custom piece designed for the occasion. Featuring the designer’s famous op-art print, Jenner wore an off-the-shoulder figure-hugging long-sleeve dress that highlighted her curves with heat map coloring and added embellishment for an extra pop. It’s rare to see Jenner in something quite so tight, and even rarer to see her in so much color, so the combination of the two was quite shocking.
While the piece is custom, we’ve seen iterations of it before, like on Jenner’s sister. Kim wore one of the original versions of the dress from Gaultier’s fall 1995 show back in February 2020 while on a trip to Paris. Back in 2018, she wore a different, less-colorful op-art JPG print at the People’s Choice Awards. The Kardashian/Jenners have been fans of Gaultier for awhile now, and hardly a month goes by without Kylie or Kim wearing either a vintage piece from the designer or a look from the brand’s more recent collaborations. Now, finally Kendall is joining the roster too.
Gaultier’s op-art print has been popular ever since he presented them in his Cyber Collection almost thirty years ago, but the Kardashians have been at the helm of the style’s resurgence over the past few years. Its recent popularity has also been helped by Gaultier’s decision to completely reinvigorate his brand, and to work with new designers on collaborations, while also reissuing pieces from the Cyber Collection. These days, they’re as popular as ever, must-have pieces that are seen on some of fashion’s biggest stars, including Dua Lipa, Cardi B, and now, Kendall Jenner.
