Kim Kardashian marked her 13th appearance at the Met Gala on Monday night with a look that was as much art history lesson as fashion statement, arriving on the Metropolitan Museum of Art steps in a tangerine fiberglass breastplate leotard built in direct collaboration with legendary British pop artist Allen Jones.
The custom look was created by Allen Jones and Whitaker Malem, with Kardashian drawing on Jones’s iconic body plate sculptures, which he began producing in the 1960s, to fulfil the evening’s “Fashion Is Art” dress code.
The entire piece was completed in three weeks, from sourcing the fiberglass to painting the breastplate at an auto body shop. The tangerine breastplate was repurposed from a casting Jones made in the late 1960s. “I wanted something original, I didn’t want to cast my own body,” Kardashian said.
Speaking during the Vogue livestream, Kardashian explained the thinking behind her choice: “One of my favorite artists, Allen Jones. We took his body plates that he started making in the 60s. This is actually a mold from a model in the 60s, we all worked together. I have seen his work referenced so many times by people in fashion, and I’ve always been a big admirer of his work.” She described the look as “sexy, classic, cool, innovative.”
Kardashian was styled by Chloe and Chenelle Delgadillo for the occasion. Whitaker Malem, her collaborator on the look, is known for creating sculptural bodysuits for artists including Doja Cat and Mariah Carey.
The look generated considerable conversation, with Kardashian joining her sisters Kendall and Kylie Jenner, who also arrived in body-sculpting ensembles, making the Kardashian-Jenner family one of the more discussed groups of the evening.
