Reality TV starlet Kim Kardashian, never one to shy away from the limelight, has spoken out about walking away from her marriage to Kanye “Ye” West, and the latest of her many shock moves.
She has added another bold move to her portfolio, launching a shock-value underwear line under her SKIMS brand.
On comedienne Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy podcast (by women), Kim reflected on the early days with Ye. She described him as larger than life, and admitted that she felt she was always learning with him. But as the years passed, she says, red flags began to accumulate.
Mental health
“When someone has their first mental break… you want to be super supportive. But when the changes aren’t being made, it becomes really hard to continue in a relationship that can be toxic,” she said.
Kim recounted how, in retrospect, she may have missed or denied some of those warning signs early on. As the breakdown of the marriage deepened, she said her mental health suffered. And ultimately, for the sake of her children, she had to make a choice.
“Once my mental health starts to get affected, and then I can’t parent the way that I need to … then one of us that can. And I had to save myself … to be a better mom for everyone.”
She revealed that she raises the children full time (they live with her). And though she welcomes a healthy relationship between them and their dad, co-parenting goes in waves. And it “is not easy”.
“I’ve never once kept the kids away from him, but I also protect them when it’s time for that.”
Pushing fashion boundaries
While publicly confronting deep personal pain, Kim also pushed boundaries in fashion. She unveiled a startling new SKIMS product: a Faux Hair Micro String Thong. Essentially it is a sheer mesh string thong adorned with faux pubic hair in a variety of colours and textures.
Priced around $32 (R550), the thong sold out almost immediately. And it is now on a waitlist in many sizes. SKIMS describes it as its most daring panty yet, calling it a blend of curly and straight faux hair. The hairs are sewn into sheer stretch mesh with elastic sides.
Reactions online have ranged from amused to bewildered. Some called the idea genius, others called it unnecessary or bizarre. According to reports, some queer and feminist communities criticised the decision to commercialise a historically symbolic aesthetic without acknowledgment.
Kim herself posted about it, laughing that it was wild, and joking about different colours and hairs.
