3 Things That Kept Me Up After Watching Episode 7 of The Kardashians

 Questions about Kim’s post-divorce independence have been central to The Kardashians thus far. Can Kim prove herself on live TV as a comedian? How will she style herself without Kanye? Will she really pass the “baby bar” exam and eventually become an attorney? This week, it’s a buzzy deal with Balenciaga and a futuristic Vogue cover that reflect her renewed—and, in fact, elevated—sense of agency.

Along the way, we get a glimpse inside her archival closet, which contains everything she’s ever publicly worn. Khloe debuts her sleek new house, and Kris and Kylie embark on an adventure akin to classic Keeping Up episodes in its absurdity: a day of doing “normal things.” Here are three things that kept me up after episode seven of The Kardashians.
Kris explains why they seldom shop for themselves these days. “One of the things that gets a little tricky is privacy,” she says. “I stopped going to the grocery store because people in the store were sneaking pictures. It was hard.” The edit cuts to a slow-mo shot highlighting a fellow shopper who’d begun discreetly filming them. It’s a moment that provides a perfect paradigm shift. We’d been experiencing the grocery store from the Jenners’ elite and disconnected vantage point, but if most of us could identify with anyone amid the spectacle, it would more likely be the everyday shopper trying to casually capture a Kardashian sighting with their phone.

In fact, it’s a little tough to tell whether those of us who still buy our own food and pump our own gas are being trolled by Kris and Kylie’s campy take on the mundane, but by the end of the scene, we’re given more clarity about their level of self-awareness. The time comes to pack the bags into the back of the Mercedes Jeep. (Kylie even exclaims, “We get to load the car!”)

“Okay,” Kris says as they finish up. “Don’t be the customer who just leaves the basket in the middle of the parking lot.” Kylie accepts the challenge, and as she journeys off to return the cart to its corral, valiant music begins playing to comedically—even self-deprecatingly—dramatize the moment. As if this conscious assertion of their own absurdity weren’t enough, next, Kris calls out the classic Kardashian catchphrase from an earlier era: “You’re doing amazing, sweetie!”

Kim has been pondering some existential questions about her next style chapter, so, with Tracy Romulus in tow, she seeks answers by making a pilgrimage to the undisclosed location that contains her fashion archive. It’s a massive, multi-level depot with wall-to-wall boxes and clothing racks abound. “I’ve had so many different fashion eras,” Kim says, “So I just want to see where I’ve been and where I want to go… I think I have, like, 30,000 pieces.”

The sight is certainly relevant to more recent discourse around Kim’s style: namely, the controversial use of Marilyn Monroe’s iconic “Happy Birthday” dress for the 2022 Met Gala, which brought the ethics of conservation into the wider public discourse. Now we discover that, all along, Kim has been doing for herself what’s often done posthumously for icons by curators: compiling and preserving all of the clothes that represent a life lived. (One day, are we going to see these pieces on display somewhere?)

The episode begins with Kim and Kris discussing Kim’s forthcoming partnership with Balenciaga, for which she intends to negotiate and contract her own deal. “Since I’ve been learning so much about contracts in law school,” Kim says, “I feel like I can do this one on my own.” “You’re like a walking in-house attorney,” Kris replies.

Kim’s fame—in part the consequence of countless partnerships—is surely scaffolded by paperwork, and being able to manage her own contracts might be the ultimate form of empowerment. We’ve just learned that she’s been archiving herself all along. Now, with the ability to legally advocate for herself, Kim can self-construct even more completely.