Many people bash Anna Wintour for legitimizing the Kardashian-Jenner clan, and I get that. I don’t think Wintour needed to legitimize them as much as she has done, although I’ve always been sort of understanding about why she gave Kim Kardashian her blessing. Kim waited, she played by Anna’s rules, she followed Kanye’s directions and on and on. Anna basically had to acknowledge Kim and give her a Vogue cover (several covers now). But by letting Kim “in,” Anna opened the doors to the whole K-J klan and that’s how we get this dumbf–kery: Kendall Jenner on the cover of Vogue, celebrating her decade as a model. The editorial is soooo bad, you guys. You would think that after ten years of professional modeling, Kendall would at the very least be able to deliver in a glossy editorial. She does not. The interview is blah as well. I feel bad about saying that because she is talking a lot about mental health and how she deals with anxiety and panic attacks. But there’s also a tremendous amount of navel-gazing for someone who is, in my opinion, simply not interesting. Some highlights:
She’s reading Joan Didion’s The Year of Magical Thinking: “Somebody said, ‘Damn, that’s a beach read for you?!’ I would read a few pages on the sand, and then my friends would come out and they’d be like, ‘Take a shot!’ It’s kind of interesting that we’re wired to not think about death all the time. And yet we don’t know the concept of never-ending. We can’t visualize a never-ending universe, but at the same time, nothing scares me more than the end of something. I’m so bad at goodbyes.”
She’s in the middle of a rough patch. “I don’t see why I shouldn’t be honest about it. In my career right now I feel really stable, really hopeful. But I’ve had a tough two months. I haven’t been myself, and my friends see it. I’m more sad than usual. I’m way more anxious than usual. So I’m not going to sit here and act like everything’s perfect. That’s life—I’m always going to be in and out of those feelings. In past interviews, when someone’s asked me about my mental state, it’s always been, ‘I’m great right now, but this is what I’ve dealt with.’ Well, right now I’m actually in it.”
Her Saturn return: “Let’s just say it’s personal-life-journey stuff. I’m a stresser and a control freak by nature. I’ll thank my mom for that one. This is also kind of a transitional period for me. I’m 28 now, and I think I’m in my Saturn return. I’m so tired emotionally, but I think it’s good. It’s almost like I’m purging something for my 30s. That’s my theory.”
The changes in the modeling industry: “When I came into it, you didn’t really see quote-unquote famous girls. Cara Delevingne was probably the biggest one who was known outside of modeling. She opened that door for me, and from there it blew up into a whole new thing. Now there’s another vibe coming through. You’re seeing a lot of social media creators at the shows. It’s great. It’s always just shifting and changing, and you take it day by day. I suss out the vibe. Does it align with me? If it still does, great. You don’t know what’s around the corner.”
Impostor syndrome: “I do have that impostor syndrome of, like, Wait, this is all happening to me? What did I do to deserve it?” Someone once told her that anxiety cannot exist in gratitude. This clicked for her, and it’s something she tries to keep constantly in mind. “I think I’m one of the luckiest girls in the world, and I appreciate every one who has decided to follow me but I also sit there and I’m like, I feel so regular.”
So, my theory about Kendall is that she knows, deep down, that she is just a regular girl, that she’s not particularly gifted or inspiring or special. She’s just thin and she has a famous sister. And that was enough to open up every door for her. It came too easy – she has imposter syndrome because fundamentally, she knows she actually IS an impostor.
Cover & IG courtesy of Vogue.
Yep, I see her as an imposter too. Ditto Kaia Gerber.
These ladies won the genetic lottery.
Only in the sense that they benefited from luck.
Cindy Crawford won the genetic lottery, and Kaia won the nepotism lottery.
Kendall was lucky to be related to — Kim? PMK? Robert, who allegedly helped a murderer dispose of evidence?
And Kendall is also lucky to have plastic surgery available to her.
She probably feels this way because she wasn’t born with that face. Whoever can take credit for her nose job, eye brow lift, and lip filler is a genius.
Not only wasn’t she born with it, she didn’t have to fight her way in. Yes yes I know all the k-j’s work very hard, up before dawn, yada yada. But confidence comes from personal accomplishment, even the smallest act of doing something for yourself and others. The K-Js all display a lacking in that stage of human development. And so they seek constant approval because they lack it internally.
This interview actually makes me like her more. She seems pretty self-aware and introspective which is refreshing for someone from that family.
I think what Kris does well is figures out what is trending/what people are talking about and then attaches one of the kids to it. And I feel like she’s tried a few things with this one (like floating the rumor that she was gay) and has settled on her being the one with anxiety. But i’m a skeptical person and find this family entirely without credibility and very manipulative, so there’s that.
I know folks love to paint every Jenner/Kardashian as a super villain but I’m honestly not interested in that. You don’t have to like a person to recognize that they too are a human being.
Yeah I gotta say she feels that way because she is an imposter. The whole nepo industry fad makes imposters.
I also kinda of hate how everyone has to talk about their mental health and panic attacks. it’s great that it’s been normalized, but not great that there is no respect for privacy or what the landscape will look like years from now and how that will impact people who revealed it all.
Amber Heard’s essay with unnamed abuser comes to mind.
Kris did a great job, sarcasm
I honestly thought if you are tall, thin and have a pretty face, being a model is easy. When I saw Kendall moving, I understood it is more than that. She is good enough in photos, but when you watch her walk or pose, you can see she is just a normal person. I was blown away by the videos of Zendaya’s photoshoots, she is mesmerizing and she isn’t a professional model. The walks of especially 90’s models are also captivating. Kendall just doesn’t have “it”. It is crazy she is one of the best paid models in the industry.
Z posing is art! She knows her angles and she has such a face. Great example of having “it.”
I’m confused. Is she saying that there weren’t well-known, famous models before Carla who “opened that door” for her?
I think it was a point about models getting to be models because they came from upper crust families, or famous families, or something like that. Which would be wrong, of course. Penelope Tree comes to me. But she made far more interesting photos than Kendall.
I’ll admit to having a great deal of sympathy for Kylie and Kendall as young adults. They were 9 and 11 when Keeping Up with the Kardashians started and everything changed. They were BABIES (and most certainly didn’t give their consent to that life.)
They’re no different than child stars, forced into a public world by their fame- and money-hungry parents. I don’t blame them for being maladjusted, insecure, and a little bit broken by now. All the money in the world, but they never, ever stood a chance at normalcy.
Both Kylie and Kendall have talked about how hard that was for them, and I definitely think social media and reality TV are terrible environments for young women. I’m sure it’s almost impossible to unplug when they were brought into it so young, and it’s been so financially successful for their family, but it’s certainly a dismal place to live.
Yeah, reality TV fame made it so much worse. Old school child stars could ebb and flow a bit between roles, albums, etc., but the KUWTK brand of fame was intentionally 24/7/365. Including in their home and most private spaces! The whole goal was to be constantly watched and admired.
What a mindf*ck for a kid.
Kendall will be much happier after her modeling career is over. She’ll always be famous, but I think being photographed for her job is a giant trigger for her. She’s probably afraid to stop, because who is she, if she’s not the super model sister? But just be a regular rich girl, Kendall! Sell your tequila, renovate your house, take endless vacations to Cabo, maybe settle down with a partner, post curated photos on IG and don’t allow comments- but quit the show and quit modeling.
I mean, she doesn’t spend a lot of time modelling anyway. She chooses the projects and gets paid a lot. I don’t think, she want to give it up. The reality show is the family business. I don’t think, her mother or Kim would allow that. There must be some emotional bullying going on behind the scenes, because Kylie also complained about being on the show at a young age and they asked Kris, she said she regretted nothing, because it was all for the family.
Kendall has imposter syndrome for reasons that have nothing to do with her career choices. I hope one day she can be who she really is without fear or loss of brand deals.
Kendall is clearly saying she’s in sort of a personal rough patch. She’d find very difficult to separate career and private life bc of hers and her family level of exposure. Most likely, she’s paving for a slow, quiet exit off modelling top tier.
What I’ve heard is that she has an intellectually curious vein and would like to have nothing to do with the show. Also, that she’s gay and doesn’t fancy the Hollywood-friendly type of chick Kris could monetize on for their brand. But this is BS unless it comes from Kendall herself.
I like one thing about Kendall, and that is the video of her pressing down on her horn as she drives the paparazzi off her street. So funny.
And I like her look; though she’s very much a better walker than an editorial girl. This cover is very 1990s Sports Illustrated. It would look great if it were a close up with her face and the water.
I agree that she is an imposter and she is regular. Watch Lorry Hill’s video on all her plastic surgery. And I don’t think she works that hard. I heard she just walks in and gets fitted immediately while all the other models have to wait hours to get the attention she gets by just breezing in. She’s humble bragging and trying to get sympathy: “No, Kendall, you worked hard for it; you’re gorgeous; you deserve everything you have, etc. etc etc.” But just the opposite is true.