It seems Kim Kardashian and Kanye West have received equal custody of Demna Gvasalia in their divorce: Less than a month after Ye announced his three-way collaboration with Yeezy Gap and Balenciaga, Kim has been revealed as the new face of the luxury brand.
Given Kardashian’s enthusiasm for head-to-toe Balenciaga looks, the brand’s fresh campaign shouldn’t come as a surprise — this is the same woman who, for last year’s Met Gala, let Demna cover up her famous figure in black lycra. Yet with her ex Ye showing off an equal, if not more faithful, loyalty to Balenciaga — foregoing his own Yeezy slides for its Crocs collaboration, influencing Demna to also drop his last name, and dressing his new girlfriend Julia Fox in all Balenciaga — it is shocking that Kanye isn’t the one becoming the face of the luxury brand. On the other hand, Kim is more of the influencer type, and perhaps a better fit for business.
The ideal influencer —
Over the past year, Balenciaga has ditched its traditional, sullen look for one that emulates pop culture: Besides dressing KimYe and company, the label recently collaborated with The Simpsons, launched a business dedicated to the metaverse, and made Crocs high fashion (and high heels). As the pop culture influencer of our time, Kim Kardashian seems to fit right into Balenciaga’s equation, melding digestible Instagram handles with unattainable prices.
Akin to her Met Gala look, Kardashian dons all-black in Balenciaga’s new campaign. Photographed by Stef Mitchell, the images show the social media mogul in her natural element: posing in her Calabasas home, at times even snapping selfies. Classic Balenciaga pieces like angular sunglasses, structured overcoats, and knee-high boots are modeled by Kim alongside more modern items like a faux leopard coat, Le Cagole bag, and the infamous, logo-adorned Sock Booties.
KimYe in Paris —
While Balenciaga has already plastered its campaign throughout social media, the images will also be displayed on famous landmarks around the world, starting with the Théâtre de la Ville in the heart of Paris. Kardashian — as well as hypebeast Justin Bieber, who also stars in the campaign — will soon be blown to even bigger proportions for the occasion, and we wouldn’t be surprised if Ye made a trip to France to honor his ex-wife (or plead her to model Yeezy Gap Engineered by Balenciaga).
