CULTURE

Kim Kardashian’s Latest Leopard Jumpsuit is Another Piece of ’90s Fashion History

She first saw Alaïa's leopard collection in a museum 5 years ago.


Celebrity Sightings In Paris - March 5, 2019
Marc Piasecki

Azzedine Alaïa may be “a totally important designer,” but that’s more than just a Clueless meme. Kim Kardashian knows this better than most, but she couldn’t help but pull out that old Cher Horowitz line while debuting the latest ’90s throwback grail she’s added to her wardrobe. In an impromptu photo shoot at wherever she’s staying in Paris at the moment, Kardashian can be seen lying in a head-to-toe leopard-print outfit from Alaïa’s famous fall 1991 collection. Kardashian not only managed to get a hold of a catsuit, but the matching coat, gloves, and high-heeled boots as well.

Though the outfit is older than some of Kardashian’s siblings, the fall 1991 collection still goes down as one of Alaïa’s defining moments. An entire segment of the show saw supermodel after supermodel strut down the runway in body conscious-designs with head-to-toe leopard spots that, in a lesser designer’s hands, might have come off as tacky at the time. Instead, the collection became an instant hit with consumers, editors, and the numerous mall stores that knocked it off.

Kardashian flew into France on the last day of Paris Fashion Week, but didn’t seem to catch any of the shows. Still, her outfit was too good just to wear around the hotel, and the reality star was snapped out and about in the look on the streets of Paris.

FRANCE – CIRCA 1991: Model walks the Fall Winter 1991-1992 Azzedine Alaia Ready to Wear (pret a porter) Runway show (Photo by Guy Marineau/Conde Nast via Getty Images)

Guy Marineau

The outfit also continues a notable ’90s obsession for Kardashian at the moment. Indeed, she hasn’t made a single major public appearance this year in anything other than vintage ’90s designer fashion (there was the black Versace dress at the amFar gala, a purple Jean Paul Gaultier outfit on Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live!, a string of eye-popping dresses directly from the Thierry Mugler archive).

There’ve been signs of Kardashian’s vintage fascination for a while, as she stunted in a variety of infamous runway items on her Instagram over the past few years (including the Tom Ford-designed Gucci g-string and the Chanel microbikini), but it now seems to have completely overtaken her wardrobe. Will she ever wear anything from a current collection again?

Though, Kardashian’s Alaïa appreciation is anything but new. Kardashian (and various members of her family) often wore the late-designer’s clothes when he was alive, and Kardashian even toured a retrospective exhibit of the designer’s work back in 2014. “Every single Alaia dress from the exhibit today, even if made decades ago is still wearable today!!!” she wrote on Instagram at the time. That, of course, included a dress from the leopard collection. Turns out not only did she make her point, but she’s been dreaming of wearing something from the collection for quite a few years now.

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Grace Jones with Kenzo and Azzedine Alaïa at a charity event for the fight against AIDS, May 1986. Photo by Bertrand Rindoff Petroff/Getty Images.

Naomi Campbell with Azzedine Alaïa and Gilles Bensimon at the departure of Jean-Paul Gaultier show in Paris, France, March 1993. Photo by Foc Kan/WireImage.

Naomi Campbell on the runway at Azzedine Alaïa’s Fall 1991 presentation, June 1991. Photo by Getty Images.

Naomi Campbell on the runway at Azzedine Alaïa’s Fall 1991 presentation, June 1991. Photo by Getty Images.

Joan Smalls at the premiere of Youth at the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France, May 2015. Photo by Getty Images.

Kendall Jenner at the premiere of Youth at the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France, May 2015. Photo by Antonia de Moraes Barros/FilmMagic.

Uma Thurman at the premiere of the Nymphomaniac: Volume II Director’s Cut at the 71st Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, September 2014. Photo by Getty Images.

Rihanna at the launch of the Clara Lionel Foundation in Paris, France, June 2014. Photo by Foc Kan/WireImage.

Lady Gaga at the 87th annual Academy Awards in Hollywood, California, February 2015. Photo by Getty Images.

In a second Alaïa look of the night, Lady Gaga attends the 87th annual Academy Awards in Hollywood, California, February 2015. Photo by Getty Images.

Rihanna at the 55th annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, California, February 2013. Photo by Getty Images.

Rosamund Pike at the IWC Gala dinner in Geneva, Switzerland, January 2016. Photo by Getty Images.

NEW YORK – MAY 20: Natalia Vodianova poses during a gala to honor Azzedine Alaia at the Guggenheim Museum May 20, 2004 in New York City. (Photo by Scott Gries/Getty Images)

Stephanie Seymour and Azzedine Alaïa at a Guggenheim Museum gala honoring the designer in New York, New York, May 2004. Photo by Scott Gries/Getty Images.

Kate Upton at the 30th annual Night of the Stars by Fashion Group International in New York, New York, October 2013. Photo by Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images.

Naomi Campbell at the Azzedine Alaïa retrospective at the Palais Galliera in Paris, France, September 2013. Photo by Marc Piasecki/WireImage.

Alicia Keys at the 55th annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, California, February 2013. Photo by Getty Images.

Charlize Theron at the 17th annual Critics’ Choice Awards in Los Angeles, California, January 2012. Photo by Getty Images.

Laetitia Casta at the Vogue Spain December issue launch in Madrid, Spain, November 2012. Photo by Juan Naharro Gimenez/WireImage.

Naomi Campbell at The Face series premiere in New York, New York, February 2013. Photo by Getty Images.

Nicole Kidman at the OMEGA House launch in London, England, July 2012. Photo by Mike Marsland/WireImage.

Miranda Kerr at a press conference in Seoul, South Korea, June 2011. Photo by Getty Images.

Naomi Campbell at the de Grisogono party at the Cannes Film Festival in Antibes, France, May 2011. Photo by Mike Marsland/WireImage.

Kim Kardashian at The Spin Crowd finale party in New York, New York, October 2010.

Zoe Saldana at the U.K. premiere of Star Trek in London, England, April 2009. Photo by Getty Images.

Mary-Kate Olsen at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute Gala in New York, New York, May 2007. Photo by Getty Images.

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