From divorcing Kanye West to Balenciaga outfits: The making of the new Kim Kardashian

It has taken a lot to keep up with Kim Kardashian lately. From divorcing Kanye West to bizarre outfits, this is how she has transformed her style – and life.

Billion-dollar businesses, the end of “Kimye”, that Met Gala outfit, and a new romance – it has taken a lot to keep up with Kim Kardashian lately.

Drama is nothing new for the reality mogul, and 2021 has certainly served enough to fill the Kardashians’ upcoming Hulu series.

It has been a year defined by endings for Kardashian, paving the way for the new Kim.

In February, she filed for divorce from Kanye West after six years of marriage (the pair remain legally wed, despite her recent attempts to be declared “single”).

“(Kardashian) has no desire to reconcile with (West) and wants their marriage terminated,” Kardashian’s lawyers said in papers tendered to a Los Angeles court this month.

Kim Kardashian has had a drama-filled 2021. Picture: GC Images

“Irreconcilable differences have led to the irremediable breakdown of the marriage, and there is no possibility of saving the marriage through counselling or other means.”

Days earlier, West had dedicated his song Runaway to her at a concert in Los Angeles.

“I need you to run right back to me, baby,” West rapped, before adding, “more specifically, Kimberly”.

It was telling that Kardashian gave her ex a tongue-in-cheek spray when she hosted Saturday Night Live in October – a monologue that West was said to have approved (he accompanied her to New York for it).

“I married the best rapper of all-time,” Kardashian said.

“Not only that, he’s the richest black man in America – a talented legit genius who gave me four incredible kids.

“So, when I divorced him, you have to know it came down to just one thing: his personality.”

Kim Kardashian at the afterparty for Saturday Night Live in October. Picture: GC images

One of her now-iconic Balenciaga outfits. Picture: Gotham/GC Images

On set at SNL, where she ripped into Kanye West. Picture: Getty Images

Kim Kardashian is now dating SNL comedian Pete Davidson, far left. Picture: Instagram

Nothing was off limits for Kardashian, who also poked fun at her sex tape, vapid reputation and locked lips with her now-love interest, Staten Island-bred comedian Pete Davidson (the pair have since been spotted on multiple dates), in front of SNL’s cameras.

“I haven’t had a movie premiere in a really long time,” Kardashian said, in a reference to the 2007 sex tape that launched her career.
“No one even told me it was premiering. It must’ve slipped my mum’s mind.”

The post-Kimye dynamic has been a complex one, played out in the public’s glaring eye.

In August, Kardashian wore a Balenciaga wedding dress to West’s Donda listening event in Chicago, seemingly recreating their wedding. “He was smiling so hard you could feel his energy radiate as he was looking at her,” a source told Us Weekly. “If you watch the video from the [event], you will see he said, ‘You look pretty.’”

Kim Kardashian, wearing a wedding dress, appeared to restage her wedding to Kanye West in a bizarre appearance, after they had broken up. Picture: Apple Music

Kim Kardashian is welcoming a new era. Picture: GC Images

In June, Kardashian and her family ended their long-running E! series Keeping Up With the Kardashians after 20 seasons, signing a multimillion-dollar deal for a new show with US network, Hulu, to debut in 2022. The same month, her “solutionwear” brand, Skims, was valued at $US1.6 billion ($A2.23 billion), per the New York Times.

Already a style icon, Kardashian took her fashion influence to the next level with the all-black Balenciaga facial covering she wore to the Met Gala, which she attended with the label’s creative director Demna Gvasalia.

In Balenciaga, at the Met Gala. Picture: Getty Images

One of the most iconic looks of 2021. Picture: AFP

Kim Kardashian outside the Ritz Carlton in New York before the Met Gala. Picture: Fernando Ramales / BACKGRID

At Paris Hilton’s wedding. Picture: Christopher Polk/Shutterstock/Media Mode

She wore Balenciaga almost exclusively – a fuchsia velvet catsuit on SNL and a gimp-esque leather mask on the streets of NYC. It led US Vogue to declare, “Kim Kardashian’s Balenciaga era is a clean slate for the star”.

“While we’ve seen Kardashian go through several eras … We’re currently witnessing the peak of Kardashian’s Balenciaga moment,” Vogue stated.

“It certainly feels like she is resetting her style.”

The “reset”, it seems, is extending to all aspects of Kardashian’s life, both public and private. She is ending 2021 by standing her ground, stamping her well-heeled presence on the fashion industry, and arguably superseding the influence of her soon-to-be ex-husband.