Introduction
“Style icons are not born, they're made. For every Diane Kruger, who seemingly entered the world clad in just the right Chanel look, there's a Nicole Richie who took almost a half decade to get to an elevated fashion sphere, through trial and error and ultimately a good stylist.” (Kerri Pieri, 2014).
From Victoria Beckham to Kelly Osbourne, these twenty-first century socialites and fashion influencers are living testimony to the quote above. In fashion, we are lead to believe that you have either got ‘it’, or you haven’t. However, what if you are given ‘it’? The fashion world could be compared to a safari of detrimental pecking order, or even a scene from Mean Girls. Anna Wintour being Regina George, who calls the shots on who is hot, and who is not. The world of high fashion seems to have been an untouchable and very select society since the get go with the same names circling and heading up the hottest trends, as well as the coming and going of ‘It Girls’.
On hearing the words ‘Fashion Icon’, most of us are no doubt drawn to the likes of Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, Madonna, because in their own right they are icons. Their legacy is still alive today, and back in the day they were highly regarded fashionistas and ‘It Girls’. What about iconic fashion women today? It seems that to be regarded as an icon you have to have been around for some time and have to have a story that carries more weight than the clothes you wear.
Living in the ‘Information Age’ we have become obsessed with wanting to know how other people live, obsessed with fame, with trends and fashion fads. This making iconic stature a lot harder to achieve than years ago. It is ironic really, the world is obsessed with surreal reality. Everybody is in search of escapism and a reality star the world has created, who gives us just that is Kim Kardashian. As Kanye West famously rapped ‘my girl a star all from a home movie’, she is the celebrity who is famous for being famous and is the third most talked about person on the planet (after Prince William and wife Kate Middleton). With typical icons, they are icons because of achievements, accolades and awards. Kim Kardashian however, is an icon because we made her one. We chose her, we tweeted her, we followed her, we googled her, we pinned her and we sat back in envy at the fourteen million six thousand nine hundred ninety followers she has on instagram.
There are a lot of people who will never regard Kim Kardashian as an icon, because we are conditioned to thinking that in order to be iconic, you have to have something physical to show for it. Something you have achieved, like a world tour, an Emmy, record breaking album sales, an actual talent, something weightier than a hugely successful reality show. Kanye West spoke about Kim Kardashian not qualifying for a spot on the Hollywood ‘Walk of Fame’ - "People are so so dated and not modern. There's no way Kim Kardashian shouldn't have a star on the Walk of Fame”. The most googled person on the planet still isn’t eligible for the social recognition some consider she deserves.
Marilyn Monroe, accepted world wide as an icon, famous and admired for being big, blonde and beautiful. A successful on screen entertainer, a socialite, a fashionista, a gossip scandal and the original ‘It Girl’. Marilyn Monroe was controversial and charming. Kim Kardashian has been said to be a modern day Monroe by Riccardo Tisci (creative director at Givenchy) -
"I met her as the girlfriend of a good friend, I just wanted a moment with her to understand and I fell in love. She's the Monroe of our age. People think she's like a doll, but actually she's tough and clever."
Of course this a very controversial subject, as people regard Monroe in a different light to Kim, which surprises me considering Marilyn was a drug addict, an alcoholic and believed to be the mistress to the president. She was a talented actress, but Kim Kardashian could be looked upon as a twenty-first century version of her. We need to keep the comparison in context, nobody is claiming that Kim Kardashian is an actress, or a blonde bombshell, the comparison is based on the popularity of being an ‘It Girl’ and nobody has captivated, shocked and obsessed over a woman like Kim Kardashian since Marilyn Monroe.
Claiming Kim Kardashian to be a Fashion Icon is even more controversial than comparing her to Monroe, but going back to my original idea of being given style, the past year Kim has been one of the best dressed women in the fashion world, with thanks to an array of stylists and designers, she has transformed into a haute couture fashionista sporting an array of unbelievable coats, Céline, Alaia, Sarah Burton, Chanel, the list goes on and on. Kim Kardashian was once recognized for her ‘trashy’ style, typically in a bandage dress with latino hooped earrings, she has truly transformed into a style influencer.
The truth is, people love to hate Kim. She is the internet and media queen of the world and despite what the critics say, her crowning glory came in the form of a Vogue cover with her fiancé Kanye West. This cover was a first for many things - the first interracial couple, the first ever # hashtag and the first ever reality star to grace the cover. This in itself is groundbreaking, iconic and some believe, is the beginning of a new and revolutionary way in which we look and celebrate celebrity, and what should be deemed as successful.
It is easy for the industry to look past Kim Kardashians ‘coming of fashion moment’ and have a clouded judgement by the sex tape start off to her career, which is more shamefully common than society likes to admit, or the shameful fashion mishaps in the past. But lets not forget, Victoria Beckham used to be a Spice Girl.. Regardless of how Kim became famous, she has maintained the limelight for nearly a decade and has managed to rope all of her family into becoming the most famous family on the planet who we have laughed with, laughed at, cried with and cried for.
“I knew I belonged to the public and to the world, not because I was talented or even beautiful.” - Marilyn Monroe
This in an interesting way of looking at the social position of Kim Kardashian, There is a sense of belonging to the world, and in particular, the internet. Without media Kim Kardashian would not have a career, but media is now the forefront of our everyday life, something that will only continue to grow, just like the Kardashian take over. Regardless of how Kim became famous, she has maintained the limelight for nearly a decade and has managed to rope all of her family into becoming the most famous family on the planet who we have laughed with, laughed at, cried with and cried for. We have been sucked into their fabulously surreal life whilst we sit on the couch with dirty hair, in over sized t-shirts, eating ice cream just longing to be one of them. Part of the obsession surrounding Kim, could be that we have been on this journey with her from the start, unlike a lot of other celebrities, we have literally watched Kim’s career begin from the moment of conception. She is the first superstar that that has maintained fame for being herself, how this can’t be regarded as iconic I do not know. Kim Kardashian is the face of the 21st century and that is societies doing.
Bibliography -
Bibliography -
Figure 1 http://www.harpersbazaar.com
Figure 2 http://www.acclaimmag.com/lifestyle/kanye-west-calls-kim-kardashian-modern-marilyn-monroe/
Figure 3 http://www.vogue.com/magazine/article/kim-kardashian-kanye-west-cover/#1
Figure 4 http://instagram.com/kimkardashian/
Figure 5 http://www.usmagazine.com
Figure 2 http://www.acclaimmag.com/lifestyle/kanye-west-calls-kim-kardashian-modern-marilyn-monroe/
Figure 3 http://www.vogue.com/magazine/article/kim-kardashian-kanye-west-cover/#1
Figure 4 http://instagram.com/kimkardashian/
Figure 5 http://www.usmagazine.com
Figure 6 http://instagram.com/kimkardashian/
