Kardashian channels Liz Taylor as Kidman watches at Balenciaga
With only three marriages under her belt, Kim Kardashian has five more trips down the aisle before she can truly be compared with movie star Elizabeth Taylor – but on the Paris runway for Balenciaga, she did her best.
Kardashian appeared in the final haute couture show for the brand by designer Demna, wearing earrings that once belonged to Elizabeth Taylor, in an outfit inspired by her character Maggie in the 1958 movie Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
Kim Kardashian arriving at the Balenciaga show in Paris and modelling Balenciaga haute couture, autumn/winter, 2025/2026.Credit: Getty Images, Supplied
In her second appearance on the haute couture runway, following her 2022 Balenciaga debut, Kardashian wore a clinging, ivory lingerie-inspired slip dress, with an off-white feathered coat falling off her shoulders.
Kardashian is a fan of Taylor and purchased three jade and diamond bracelets at a 2011 auction that belonged to the legendary actress. For the Balenciaga show, the earrings were borrowed from jeweller Lorraine Schwartz, who purchased them at auction for $US374,500 ($572,890) in 2011.
“The Golden Age of Hollywood, a perpetual obsession of mine, informs a study of Old Hollywood glamour,” Demna wrote in his notes for the collection. “A black sequined ‘Diva’ gown inspired by Marilyn Monroe, a pink ‘Debutante’ princess dress in the world’s lightest technical organza.”
Rather than share the runway with Kardashian again, Nicole Kidman, an ambassador for the fashion house founded by Spanish designer Cristobal Balenciaga in 1937, watched from the front row. Wearing a single-button black blazer and narrow pants with pointed glossy heels, the Australian Oscar-winner looked ready for a high-fashion remake of The Matrix.
Kidman was joined in the front row by Naomi Watts and her 16-year-old daughter Kai Schreiber, who modelled at the Celine ready-to-wear show earlier in the week.
“There’s something truly magical about couture – it’s when fashion becomes pure art,” Watts told US Vogue. “This year feels especially meaningful with it being Demna’s final show, and I was so excited to experience it with my girl. She’s really immersed herself in the fashion world now, which makes it all the more special.”
On the runway, Kardashian was joined by revered French actress Isabelle Huppert in cinched black trousers and an exaggerated turtleneck, and Naomi Campbell in a liquid black sequinned strapless gown.
The tribute to Paris and Old Hollywood was a fitting farewell to Balenciaga for Demna, who is preparing to take over the Italian fashion house Gucci.
“His creative power is exactly what Gucci needs,” said Kering’s chairman and chief executive, François-Henri Pinault, during the announcement of Demna’s new role in March.
Pinault will be hoping that the Georgian-born designer can replicate his success at Balenciaga, where estimates from HSBC say that he raised revenue from €200 million ($359 million) during his first year to €1.76 billion ($3.15 billion) by 2021.
Demna has already managed to leave the 2022 scandal surrounding Balenciaga advertisements, featuring images of children with BDSM-inspired teddy bear handbags, behind him.
“I am truly excited to join the Gucci family,” Demna said in March.
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