Kylie Jenner launches her new fashion brand ‘Khy’, but will it expose her lack of integrity as a designer?
By Jennifer Raymont
These days it seems the Kardashian-Jenners launch a new brand every other day, whether it’s shapewear, makeup or tequila, or in other words my top 3 night out essentials, but Kylie Jenner’s latest venture has got us asking why Khy?
This weekend Kylie Jenner announced her new clothing brand, Khy, and with the brand’s first collection launching November 1st the youngest in the Kardashian-Jenner clan is causing quite the stir. The collection blends “designer fashion with everyday style” and features form fitting faux leather ensembles contrasted against a pastel decorated stately home with flakey French pastries for Kylie’s breakfast in teaser videos. It’s giving The Matrix meets Marie Antoinette.
At first glance the collection has an edge but maintains Kardashian aesthetics with cinched waists and a darker colour pallet. With prices starting at $48 and peaking at $198 the range is both wearable and affordable, despite Jenner’s notoriously lavish lifestyle. The featured product is a leather floor grazing trench coat that bears a striking resemblance to Yves Saint Laurent’s iconic original design. Khy’s first red flag is an overwhelming lack of originality – there I said it.
Jenner told WSJ that the collection draws inspiration from her own “personal wardrobe and the different moods [she’s] in.” She must be feeling particularly dark and stormy this month, and the backlash against the upcoming launch is bound to make her feel even worse.
This isn’t Jenner’s first attempt to make it as a designer. In 2021, Jenner launched Kylie Swim and released a capsule swimwear collection with no consistent design choices aside from colour palette. Once fans of the beauty mogul began to receive their much anticipated swimsuits, criticism began to flow. Customers complained about see-through fabric that made for quite a surprise once they hit the pool, whilst others noticed awful production quality with open seams and loose threads. One critic even noticed the 1.5inch crotch coverage. It’s almost as if Jenner never went to design school…
Perhaps learning from the catastrophe that was Kylie Swim, Jenner has teamed up with Berlin based designer’s Nan Li and Emilia Pfohl and their brand Namilia. Rebelion and rave are central to the brand's identity, and draw upon Berlin’s extremely exclusive club scene. The duo have brought their art school expertise and wealth of fashion experience to help the reality star on her newest conquest. Sadly, however, I don’t think Jenner will be let into Berghain any time soon no matter how many times she name drops her famous friends.
Despite co-designing the collection, Li and Pfohl’s contribution has been overshadowed by Jenner as the face of the brand. Jenner’s campaign shots flooded Instagram and it wasn’t without research that I realised the brand was in fact a collab. With a little help from her friends and sister, Khy received a free of charge pavement photoshoot courtesy of the paparazzi as they snapped Kendall Jenner and Hailey Bieber sporting key looks from the collection whilst out for dinner. Could the celebrity endorsements and social media hype be a distraction from Kylie Jenner’s lack of integrity as a designer?
Jenner would certainly not be the first to dabble in fields outside of their own, in fact Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, as well as Victoria Beckham have catapulted their respective fashion brands. The Olsen twin’s understated luxury brand The Row has received countless CFDA awards since its launch in 2011 and is even giving the Hermès Birkin bag a run for its money with its Alligator Backpack selling for $39,000. The Olsens opted for almost complete anonymity when launching their brand, something unheard of to Jenner. They rarely give interviews and their only social media presence is through The Row’s Instagram page on which they rarely feature. Rather than using their fame and success as young actresses, the Olsens are putting in the graft to boost their brand. They are seen visiting their atelier on a daily basis and are even guilty of taking a few cigarette breaks as they curate their upcoming collections. Jenner even wants to emulate The Row’s success for Khy as she styles her own leather sets with accessories and shoes from The Row. I would argue, however, that putting each brand in such close proximity is only showcasing Jenner’s lack of design education.
This isn’t to say that the upcoming collection doesn’t excite me, I love nothing more than doubling up my leather and exploring my darker side. I do fear that Khy runs the risk of being all fur coats and no knickers. The brand is only just starting off so for Kylie Jenner the brand’s development might be a learn on the job scenario. Give it a few years and Kylie Jenner might even have her own show at fashion week, who knows?