Kim Kardashian showed up at last week’s Met Gala in a stunning wet-illusion gown made by none other than Thierry Mugler, the legendary French designer who broke a 20-year design hiatus to create the piece. But there was a part of the look none of us saw in the pics: a corset so intense Kardashian said she had to take “corset-breathing lessons.”
In an Instagram post, Kardashian shared that the gown took months to perfect and that the process included corset-breathing lessons from Mr. Pearl, the iconic corset designer known for creating pieces for Dita Von Teese. She also wrote that the day she found out the Met Gala’s theme was “Camp: Notes on Fashion,” she immediately called Mugler, who she referred to as the “King of Camp.”
“We met up in Miami right after the holidays last year and saw the sketches,” Kardashian wrote in her post. “I learned so much about couture from this genius man, it was beyond couture, it was art! 7 months in the making and fittings in Montreal, Paris and LA. Corset breathing lessons from none other than Mr. Pearl. It was worth it all!! And this was the start of a magical inspiring connection. Stay tuned for more.”
Apparently, the corset also kept Kardashian from literally sitting down the entire night. A behind-the-scenes video from Vogue gave us a glimpse at all the planning that went into the waist-snatched showstopper, and it shows that Kim couldn’t fully bend once the corset part of the gown was laced up.
“OK, so Anna, if I don’t sit down for dinner, now you know why,” Kardashian joked in the clip. “I’ll be walking around mingling, talking, but I cannot hardly sit. I can only half-sit.”