Kim Kardashian Struts Demna's Final Balenciaga Runway Wearing Custom Couture and Elizabeth Taylor's Diamonds
It was the most glamorous adieu to Demna's tenure.
Yesterday, Kim Kardashian wrote on Instagram she's "pantabooting the f*ck" out of Demna's controversial hybrid to honor his final bow at Balenciaga. But when the creative director's Fall/Winter 2025 Couture show rolled around, she gave his calling card a break.
On July 9, Kardashian peeled off the skin-tight shoes and replaced them with Look 9 from his last collection. That's right, the longtime Balenciaga babe walked the runway during Paris Couture Week.
Demna chose 10 Avenue George V in Paris (the birthplace of Balenciaga) as his venue: an intimate boutique with ivory walls and monochrome curtains. Each model strolled from room to room in bold ballgowns, striking outerwear, and grungy leather galore, summarizing ten years of Demna's signatures at the house.
The SKIMS founder fit right in with the show's theme—walking the runway in classic Kardashian attire, starting with a skintight slip dress. The ivory midi mimicked 1950s lingerie, as the duchess satin was lined with lace. From there, the All's Fair star went full old Hollywood glamour with a mink faux fur coat, which draped delicately below her shoulders. The feather-embellished piece was oversized without stealing the show from her calf-length slip. Kardashian's pointy pumps followed the iconic pantaboot silhouette, minus the elongated leggings.
Kim Kardashian bid adieu to Demna's Balenciaga era on the Paris Couture Week runway.
Demna's concept is synonymous with under-accessorized looks. Remember Kardashian's custom pillow-like gown at the 2025 Vanity Fair Oscar Party? She didn't wear any jewelry. But for his swan song, he frosted Kardashian in a mound of diamonds, courtesy of Lorraine Schwartz. The Hollywood-beloved designer loaned Kardashian 15-carat diamond earrings created by Mike Todd for his wife, Elizabeth Taylor. Schwartz originally secured them at a 2011 auction, writing on her Facebook page, "I could feel [Taylor] saying to me, ‘Buy them, they’re my favorite.'"
The sparkle stretched onto Kardashian's neck with 196 carats of contrasting diamonds. She sourced Schwartz once again for an intricate choker with pear and oval-shaped diamonds. Another extravagant sparkler dangled below, complete with a singular elongated pendant. The stone accounted for 30 carats itself.
Kardashian doesn't walk the runway as often as her sister, Kendall Jenner, but she isn't a newbie, either. She's modeled in five fashion shows since 2007, including Balenciaga's Haute Couture 2022 presentation.
Demna dressed his muse in Look 55: an asymmetrical long-sleeve gown sculpted of buttery smooth satin. Her favorite Balenciaga footwear made their umpteenth appearance when she slipped on pantaboots in a similar jet black shade. To finish, Kardashian opted out of any jewelry whatsoever.
Kardashian posed during the Balenciaga Haute Couture Fall 2022 show.
Kardashian has been the most loyal Demna devotee since his tenure began in 2015. So, she'll likely follow him to Gucci and beyond.
That said, her Balenciaga affinity also won't end with Pierpaolo Piccioli's appointment. In the 2010s, she attended the Italian creative's Valentino shows, and wore his designs on the street style scene. There's room for everyone in Kardashian's closet.
