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Kim Kardashian Takes Night Swim in Archival McQueen ‘Shipwreck’ Gown in Rio

The 2003 Irere piece—shown in the Met’s Savage Beauty, sourced from One of a Kind Archive—echoes McQueen’s original shipwreck narrative.

Overview

  • Photos posted to Instagram show Kardashian in the ocean at night in Rio de Janeiro during a trip to promote Hulu’s All’s Fair.
  • The nude-toned chiffon gown from Alexander McQueen’s Spring/Summer 2003 Irere collection features a corseted bodice, braided straps, and a tattered skirt.
  • Photographer Tomás Herold shot the images, which reference the collection’s runway film of a model swimming away from a wreck.
  • The dress has museum provenance through the Met’s 2011 Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty exhibition, and collectors commonly refer to it as the ‘shipwreck’ dress.
  • Online reaction mixed admiration with concern, including a cautionary comment from sister Khloé Kardashian, though no damage to the archival piece has been reported.