Kim Kardashian wore an orange fibreglass breastplate to the 2024 Met Gala, created by the east London design duo Whitaker Malem (Patrick Whitaker and Keir Malem) in collaboration with British pop artist Allen Jones. The breastplate was cast from a mould derived from Jones's 1969 sculpture "Hatstand," finished by car bodyshop MPS Body and Paint in Kent, and paired with a hand-painted leather skirt. Kardashian directly contacted the duo in early April, flew to the UK for fittings, and chose the piece to interpret the gala's "fashion is art" dress code, which explored the dressed and undressed human body.
This matters because it highlights the ongoing influence of Allen Jones's controversial fetishistic furniture—which sparked second-wave feminist outrage—on contemporary fashion and pop culture. The collaboration also underscores how the Met Gala continues to serve as a platform for merging art, fashion, and celebrity, while elevating small, independent design practices like Whitaker Malem into the global spotlight. The piece's creation process, involving a car bodyshop and a decades-old art mould, reflects the hybrid, cross-disciplinary nature of contemporary art and design production.