At the 2021 Met Gala, Kim Kardashian Wore Another Full-Face Covering Balenciaga Look

The 2021 Met Gala theme is “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion,” and whose work as a permanent fixture of pop culture feels more American than Kim Kardashian? The media mogul arrived on the red carpet wearing yet another black Balenciaga ensemble that fully covered her face, paying homage to BDSM subcultures and club kid icon Leigh Bowerywhile also continuing to work with frequent Kardashian-West collaborator, Balenciaga creative director Demna Gvasalia (and Kanye West, who reportedly designed the look with Gvasalia).

It’s a bold move, arriving to fashion’s biggest night in a look that prevents the viewer from even seeing the face of the person inside of the outfit, but we should have seen it coming. The other day, amid New York Fashion Week, Kardashian wore a full body (and face covering) leather look. And last week, she was out and about in Malibu wearing a black Balmain gown that looked like it came straight from the set of The Matrix. Before that, she wore a full body Balenciaga gimp suit to one of her soon-to-be ex-husband’s many DONDA listening parties. This time, she showed up with a high pony peaking out of the face covering, black tights, black boots, and a dress-top with a long train.

By arriving faceless to a carpet where everyone else is doing their best to serve face, Kardashian signifies that she knows that the outline of her entire body’s shape is enough to be instantly recognizable as “Kim Kardashian.”