Kim Kardashian wore a vintage 1986 Yves Saint Laurent corset gown to the season two premiere of All's Fair at the Rome Film Festival in Italy on October 24. Her mother, Kris Jenner, joined her on the red carpet in a historic 1969 Tiziani Roma cape once owned by actress Elizabeth Taylor.
Kardashian, 46, wore the leopard-print Golden Tigress gown from Yves Saint Laurent's Haute Couture Fall 1986 collection, styled by Law Roach with a matching chiffon scarf, black heels and a ponytail. She walked the carpet alongside co-stars Naomi Watts, 58, and Sarah Paulson, 51, ahead of the show's November 4 debut on Disney+.
Observers noted that the lace-up detailing on the bodice looked slightly different from the original design, prompting speculation that the television star either altered the piece or wore a version sold at auction in December rather than the original runway garment.
Celebrity stylist and fashion expert Lisa Talbot told the Daily Mail that Kardashian's habit of choosing archival clothing is a deliberate effort to "create a moment" and "get people talking".
"However, I think there is a difference between wearing a famous piece and truly capturing the spirit of the person who originally wore it," Talbot said. "Clothes are never just about the garment itself; they are also about the woman wearing them."
Talbot added that wearing archival pieces offers "the opportunity to wear something that has already made its mark on fashion".
"There is also an exclusivity to archival dressing that you simply cannot achieve by wearing something straight off the runway," she said. "These are often rare, historically significant pieces that have a story attached to them, and that makes them incredibly powerful."
Elizabeth Taylor's 1969 Tiziani Roma cape
Jenner, 70, departed from her usual custom designer wardrobe at the Rome screening by wearing the Tiziani Roma evening cape that British-American star Elizabeth Taylor wore to Princess Grace of Monaco's 40th birthday party in Monte Carlo in 1969. Jenner bought the cape at auction and lent it to her daughter for the new season of All's Fair.
Kardashian was photographed wearing the same garment on the set of All's Fair in October, pairing it with a necklace that closely resembled Taylor's 69.42-carat pear-shaped Taylor-Burton diamond.
The Tiziani Roma cape features an ivory silk lining, a dramatic hood and two scorpions embroidered on the chest. Taylor wore the Taylor-Burton diamond necklace with the cape at Grace Kelly's 1969 party, and later sold the gem to jeweller Mouawad in 1979 for £3.8 million, equivalent to £17.4 million today, after divorcing Richard Burton for a second time.
Marilyn Monroe's 1962 Met Gala gown
Kardashian has built a collection of garments owned by Hollywood icons and royalty, drawing intense debate at the 2022 Met Gala when she wore Marilyn Monroe's 1962 "Happy Birthday Mr President" dress. Designed by Jean Louis, the glittering gown originally cost Monroe $1,440 and was reportedly sewn onto her before her performance months prior to her death.
Ripley's Believe It Or Not! Museum in Orlando bought the dress at Julien's Auctions for $4.81 million, making it one of the most expensive dresses ever sold at auction, and loaned the garment to Kardashian for the red carpet.
Although Kardashian lost 16 pounds in three weeks to squeeze into the dress, which is valued at around $4.8 million to $5 million, it still did not close at the back. She covered her back with a white shawl on the Met Gala steps before changing into a replica later that night.
Historians later argued that the outing damaged the delicate fabric. Author Michelle Morgan, who has written several books on Monroe, said allowing the dress on a red carpet risked damaging it with "sweat" and "make-up". Monroe historian and collector Scott Fortner also voiced concern because the dress was a bespoke design and "not an off-the-rack garment".
Princess Diana's Attallah Cross necklace
In January 2023, the mother of four paid $197,453 at a Sotheby's auction, double the pre-auction estimate and nearly $200,000, for the Attallah Cross worn by Diana, Princess of Wales. Kardashian wore the pendant with a plunging white gown and heavy jewellery to the 2024 Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) Art + Film Gala, where several fashion critics called the styling "tone deaf" and inappropriate.
Created in the 1920s by court jeweller Garrard, the cross contains square-cut amethysts framed by 5.25 carats of circular-cut diamonds. Palestinian-British businessman Naim Attallah owned the piece and lent it to Diana several times in the 1980s, including on a pearl necklace with a purple velvet Catherine Walker dress at a 1987 Birthright charity gala.
Talbot said Kardashian "understands" that "wearing something unexpected or historically significant will command attention".
"Sometimes, when a piece is so closely associated with another woman, that original story can be difficult to escape," Talbot added. "You can end up looking at the reference rather than the woman wearing it."
Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson stage outfits
Kardashian and her former husband Kanye West also bought memorabilia from the Jackson family. In October 2019, the couple paid $65,625 at auction for a jacket Michael Jackson wore to Elizabeth Taylor's 65th birthday party in 1997, reportedly having it altered as a gift for their daughter North West.
"Kanye and I gave North this jacket, and, this was Michael Jackson's jacket that he wore with Elizabeth Taylor," Kardashian told her social media followers. "North is a really big Michael Jackson fan and we knew she would love this."
In 2021, Kardashian spent $25,000 at Julien's Auctions on the custom crop top and choker Janet Jackson wore in her 1993 "If" music video. When Kardashian wore the outfit to Jackson's Together Again tour in 2024, critics online argued that the ensemble "should be in a museum".
Jackson herself had endorsed the purchase in 2021 after Kardashian posted a photo from the video and wrote: "For Janet Jackson's bday bc I'm such a fan I can't believe I won this outfit on Jules Auctions." The singer reposted the message with three kiss emojis and wrote: "Thank u so much Kim Kardashian I hope 'IF' gives u as much pleasure as it did me".
Elizabeth Taylor's earrings and Jackie Kennedy's watch
At Balenciaga's Fall 2025 couture show in Paris last year, Kardashian wore Elizabeth Taylor's vintage chandelier earrings, which feature three circular-cut diamond drop pendants, bows and floral motifs. Film producer Mike Todd gave the earrings to the Oscar-winning actress in 1957, shortly before he died in March 1958.
Kardashian bought the earrings at auction for $374,500 and wore them with roughly 250 carats of Lorraine Schwartz diamond necklaces and a cream satin slip dress inspired by Taylor's costume in the 1958 film Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. She captioned her photos "DEMNA" to mark designer Demna Gvasalia's final couture show for Balenciaga.
Her collection also includes former US First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy's 18-karat gold Cartier Tank watch, which has a plain face, a black strap and no gemstones. Prince Stanislaw Radziwill gave the watch to his sister-in-law on February 23, 1963, to mark a 50-mile hike he completed for President John F. Kennedy months before the president's assassination.
Kardashian bought the watch at Christie's in New York City for $379,500 in 2017 and wore it to a 2019 White House meeting with President Donald Trump. "I bought Jackie Kennedy Onassis's watch at auction," she told Vogue for its May issue. "I wore it when I went to the White House. It gave me some power: Let's get in there and get this done!"
Last month, Kardashian attended the Academy Museum Gala in a strapless 1951 Cristobal Balenciaga archival gown with a baby pink satin ribbon across the neckline, acquired by retailer Lily et Cie and styled by Law Roach in tribute to Taylor's Hollywood glamour. She paired it with a 55.8-carat Leviev Carmen diamond choker and 10.2-carat diamond earrings by Zydo Italy.
Talbot said Kardashian's interest in vintage couture "brings attention to the craftsmanship and creativity of designers from previous decades".
"Fashion should be celebrated, revisited and enjoyed," Talbot said. "But wearing a piece of fashion history comes with a certain responsibility: you need to bring your own personality to it. Otherwise, you risk being overshadowed by the history of the clothes themselves."
