How does one become a fashion icon? Let British Vogue count the ways.
First: a vintage dive into an iconic (or, even better, avant-garde) designer’s archive, like Jean Paul Gaultier, Mugler or (cue intake of breath) Comme des Garçons. Second: a continued flirtation with a) a conical bra, or b) pants as partywear. Third: a red-carpet outing or two in an insider brand of the moment, like Haider Ackermann or Maison Margiela. Fourth: wearing something that will cause enough consternation to rival Lady Gaga’s 2010 MTV Video Music Awards meat dress, such as a faux Schiaparelli lion head. Fifth: amassing a surprising collection of “ugly” (but fashion-sanctioned) shoes, like Maison Margiela split toe Tabi pumps. And sixth: by stockpiling a significant amount of ’90s Prada. Or in the case of Kylie Jenner, custom Prada.
Of course, the seventh way to become a style megastar – as Kylie has long demonstrated – is with a sprinkling of money-cannot-buy star power. It’s something Vogue’s Giles Hattersley witnessed first-hand when he was dispatched to the front rows of Paris Fashion Week to profile the youngest Kar-Jenner for Vogue’s September 2024 issue. “She glides into the room in a snowstorm of camera flashes in a crystal-embellished couture gown, her head entirely veiled in a wrap of lightest peach,” he wrote of her appearance at Schiaparelli’s autumn/winter 2024 Haute Couture show. “Her powerhouse presence requires a whole other level of choreography,” he continued. “No sooner has she entered the building than her arrival video begins clocking up 11 million views on British Vogue’s Instagram alone, while the keyword ‘veil’ starts trending on Google.” Her response to all this? “Every time I go to Paris things just happen.”
Here, we count down the looks that cemented Jenner’s fashion-insider status (lion’s head very much included).