Many Kaylor Truthers believe that Karlie Kloss and Taylor Swift fell in love at the 2013 Victoria’s Secret show. That was one of the first times they ever met, and it was love – or friendship – at first sight. A girls’ trip up the coast to Big Sur followed soon after that show, and Karlie and Tay-Tay were inseparable for years. Taylor even “gave” Karlie her own room in her New York penthouse. All because of Victoria’s Secret!
Karlie has walked many of VS’s runway shows over the years, and that includes last November’s controversial show in Shanghai, where VS refused to hire many women of color, and the Chinese government wouldn’t issue visas to several of the models, plus all of the censorship shenanigans. Add to that all of the conversations about “do we really need a big runway show for poor quality lingerie?” and “who needs this besides Leonardo DiCaprio?” But Karlie thinks VS shows are fine. Nay, she believes they are important! And not just because of KAYLOR. It’s because of… female empowerment, or something. I’ll let her explain, via The Telegraph (which still refers to her as “Taylor Swift’s best friend” hmmm):
As well as being Taylor Swift’s best friend, Karlie is arguably most famous for being a Victoria’s Secret model, a role she takes very seriously. ‘A show like Victoria’s Secret is so relevant in the world we live in today,’ she tells me. The annual event has come under the spotlight recently, with critics arguing it is unfeminist and exploitative – particularly with the subject of female empowerment and equality dominating the news, and the Time’s Up campaign calling for the end of sexual harassment in the entertainment industry.
Her fellow Victoria’s Secret model Adriana Lima hit the headlines in December last year when she took to Instagram to declare that she will no longer take her clothes off ‘for an empty cause’, a statement many took as a reference to her commitment to the lingerie brand. However, when I ask Karlie about the relevance of a show like Victoria’s Secret in today’s climate, she says it is more potent than ever before. ‘There’s something really powerful about a woman who owns her sexuality and is in charge,’ she says.
‘A show like this celebrates that and allows all of us to be the best versions of ourselves. Whether it’s wearing heels, make-up or a beautiful piece of lingerie – if you are in control and empowered by yourself, it’s sexy. I personally love investing in a powerful scent or piece of lingerie, but I ensure it’s on my terms. I like to set a positive example, so would never be part of something I didn’t believe in.’
So what does Karlie think is the definition of attractiveness? ‘Women who have confidence and sensuality but in a much more mysterious way is something I find really attractive. When a women has confidence and is self-knowing, there is nothing she can’t achieve.’
Apparently there’s a touch of Emily Ratajkowski to Karlie, which I never knew. Honestly, this whole conversation is a mess from start to finish. Let’s start with the way The Telegraph framed everything, like “why should lingerie shows exist in an era of Me Too and Time’s Up?” Time’s Up and Me Too are about harassment, abuse and assault, not wearing lingerie or sexiness or whatever. The publication is conflating the Time’s Up conversation with the “Is Victoria’s Secret still relevant?” conversation and making it seem like now “sexiness” is under assault by mouthy, braless bitches. Repeat after me: you can be harassed and abused if you’re wearing sweatpants and no makeup. You can wear lingerie and strut down the runway (or the street) and that has nothing to do with abuse and harassment.
As for what Karlie says… it’s still not great. “A show like this celebrates that and allows all of us to be the best versions of ourselves. Whether it’s wearing heels, make-up or a beautiful piece of lingerie – if you are in control and empowered by yourself.” This is Ivanka Trump’s version of feminism – consumer feminism, capitalist feminism, where you attach your own sense of worth to what you’re buying for yourself.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid, WENN.
Not sure walking the catwalk in lingerie so a big corporation can sell their shitty quality underpants to rich Chinese people, counts as a woman ‘owning her sexuality’. But hey, to each their own.
Curious to know if these women who extol the virtues and female empowerment of lingerie have a clue about how its made and how many woman are exploited as part of the supply chain.
@Clare,
I’m not sure how many women VS exploits but they are one of the companies that exploits incarcerated men, they use prison labor to make their products.
@Renee2
Thanks for sharing that info, I had no idea! Point still applies to other companies, I would guess.
OK, now I’m picturing a bunch of convicts fingering the panties and bras … glad I don’t shop there.
The whole VS fashion show thing has been as cheesy as their non breathable synthetic panties. Who wears this crap? I’m not called to wear “pink” across the arse of m’ fart day sweatpants, my vagina is proudly purple anyway, thank you.
Lol, Victoria’s Secret shows are not about female empowerment. If they were I wouldnt read stories about how all the models drank only juice for a week before the show.
It wouldn’t be focused on the male gaze.
It wouldn’t exclude all body types except one.
It wouldn’t be governed solely by old dudes (L Brand, the owner of VS, CEOs and all executives are male)
But hey, she probably wants at least one more pay check.
Absolutelly! Also her attempt to sell this shkw as something noble and empowering is despicable. As well saying “Women who have confidence and sensuality but in a much more mysterious way is something I find really attractive. When a women has confidence and is self-knowing, there is nothing she can’t achieve” is highly prblematic. Did she hear anything about the conversations happening in the past months, where women began finally openly talking about the huge barriers and obstacles they face while trying to achieve something meaningfull in life? Probably she was too busy starving herself so she could be watched by men while walking down the runway in her underwear. And I say that as someone who loves a great pair of lingerie.
Exactly this.
Yep, so done with the male gaze!!
And plus, feminist have been talking about women owning their own sexuality for decades and she’s talking about it like she freaking discovered it lol. Thx captain obvious, join us, we’ve been fighting the good fight for like a hundred years.
Amen!
I just don’t get why everything has to be feminist. I do so many things in my daily life that would not be considered feminist at all. Wearing lingerie is not feminist which is not a problem because neither is not wearing lingerie.( I fucked up that sentence but whatever) Sometimes you do stuff because you want to. If you wanna wear lingerie and look hot, it is cool. It is not feminist and it doesn’t need to be.
Una- not everything has to be feminist. Just be truthful about your motivations.
This makes no sense. How is wearing lingerie not feminist? Feminism is securing equal rights to both men and women. It does not mean women can’t wear things that make them feel sexy. Kaiser just means that while Kloss believes VS is empowering women, the show is still set to the man’s gaze.
Also, if I want to add fire to the kaylor truthers, when Karlie was asked what the definition of attractiveness is, she defines it by how she finds women sexy. No explanation of how men are. Hmmmm.
Did you read my comment? I guess I didn’t ezplain it clearly. Lingerie is not for feminism or against feminism, it is a personal choice. It has nothing to do with feminism. When it comes to clothes, women cannot win. If women dress modestly, they are embracing patriarchy by hiding themselves and if they dress revealing, they are embracing patriarchy by serving the male gaze. She should have said “I have a banging body and make lots of money”. It is the most valid reason there is.
You’re both right.
I don’t think female empowerment is Victoria Secret’s main priority- which is fine, they’re a company out to make money- and Karlie Kloss can only speak on what’s personally empowering for her. But it’s good that she turned (yet another!) conversation about women needing to cover up because of Sex Predatorgate into an argument for women owning their sexuality. When all of this first started, it was predicted that people would use the wrongs of these men as an argument for female modesty. To call it a disappointment would imply that there was some reason to expect better from society- but there wasn’t. It’s the same old, same old,
One word: bras. Its a norm for women. We have to wear them. That’s sexist. I am not saying we have to wear them on day off, but it’s a corporate thing.
So even lingerie can be sexist cos its not for comfort, its all about looking a certain way
@Milla: The bras I wear *are* comfortable, and I buy them for both active and everyday life. It would be *un*comfortable for me NOT to wear a bra, so I think this is less a case—as it is to many women–not of wearing bras to “look a certain way”(sexy) but to feel physically MORE comfortable than without one.
@Ksenia
I’m glad you’re comfortable in bras. No one’s saying it’s impossible. The previous commenter’s point was that women HAVE to wear them, whether they like it or not. I hate bras but would still be expected to cover my nipples if I worked an office job. Feminism is about choice, not banning women from wearing bras. Currently, many of them have no choice when it comes to bras.
VS must pay her a lot of $, because that was a lot of nonsense and I expected better of her. But I assume that’s one of her biggest contracts, so I can understand her not going out and trashing the brand and the industry.
Underwear ads and shows aren’t for women, really. They’re masturbatory fantasies for men. Yeah, that’s real empowering, posing for pics suburban dads and teen boys wack off to.
It’s fine to do this, but don’t sell it as some grand powerful activity. It’s just pandering to the male gaze. I don’t expect women to always be feminist, but don’t promote this pseudofeminist nonsense.
Have to thank you for answering my longstanding question as to why the NY Times women’s underwear ads so early in the paper when I was growing up. That and the costly jewelry.
Well… it’s not that surprising that she subrcibes to Ivanka Trump feminism because she’s basically a Kushner. I’m sure DJT things lingerie fashion shows empower women too.
came here to say the same thing. the kushner’s are all criminals and she’s in a serious relationship with one of them. she’s going to get anne hathaway’d and get all her journals and emails/phone subpoenaed someday.
Well, isn’t this how Kate M. sealed the deal on scoring the future-queen gig? Would have been hilarious if Karlie K had mentioned it.
Were there any questions about what it’s like hanging out with her Kushner/Trump in-laws?
The intensity of the Kloss-Swift relationship really speaks to Swift’s narcissism (though I generally think she gets too much of a bad rap here); I think she was smitten with Kloss because she looked like a modellier mirror-image of herself.
“I think she was smitten with Kloss because she looked like a modellier mirror-image of herself. ” Bingo. Why do you think Swifts new guy looks like both of them?
Yep. I think so much of her friendship with Karlie and then the other models like Gigi was just about her loving being grouped in with a bunch of supermodels.
Taylor’s life basically seems to be about getting over being a bit of a dork in high school.
I find her really unattractive, and that shade of blonde is horrendous on her.
i agree 100% its just because she’s really tall and skinny that she gets the work.
I think her cheek implants are way too big, overdone.
I have no idea if her cheek bones are for real, but I have found myself thinking they look weird. She is a great runway model and striking to look at but I’ve never considered her beautiful. Still, I’d trade my old model of a body for hers any day.
I think she’s the kind of person who can look extremely gorgeous or very ugly, depending on what she wears and how she poses.
VS is an enterprise not a charity project. All this flowery nonsense to justify everyones career gains.
Also that shade of blonde makes her look like a death eater.
“that shade of blonde makes her look like a death eater”- I’M DEAD 🤣🤣
There are plenty of lingerie brands whose imagery is sexy AND empowering.
VS is not one of them. It’s just old fashioned and tired. Male gaze, frills, juice fasts, blah.
Nothing as as powerful as a coventionally attractive woman that uses her body to make money for a rich white man while making regular women feel horrible about their bodies!
Corporate feminism is not feminism.
Go hang out with the Kushners, Ivanka or Wendi Murdoch.
Ah, good old corporate feminism! When a boardroom full of old rich men try to formulate one cohesive pro-woman thought to promote/recover their brand. It’s really important to dust off A Female TM to deliver the new ‘Empowerment’ message too (without ever saying the word feminist because, as we all know, that’s a group of horrible braless shrieking hags).
“Taylor Swift’s best friend”? But Taylor doesn’t want her like a best friend. She only bought that dress so Karlie could take it off! Ah ah ah ah aaaahhhh
Yes I admit I’m a recently initiated Kaylor.
I’m just here for Kaylor Konspiracies. I recently discovered them and they are too fun. Hit me up with them, please!
The Kaylor Konspiracies, oh my god. I could go on for pages about it at this point. I don’t think I would have been so convinced pre-Reputation, and I’d heard things here and there about it before but always brushed it off as people reaching/wishing, but ever since the release of reputation, it all seems so incredibly obvious. All the lyrics about secret, hidden, forbidden love, all the allusions to bearding and closets (in both videos/promo videos/lyrics), all these little clues in the videos and on instagram (that others put together, I don’t have the patience). The delicate music video where there is a “track 5” painted on a subway pole (delicate is the 5th track on the album) and in fifth place at the bar there is a Karlie Kloss lookalike. And then 2 days later, Karlie posts on instagram a picture of herself at a subway station, underneath a “5” on the wall, with the caption “you looking at me?” (supposedly referring to the penguins in the mural on the wall behind her). After all the speculation about who TS is looking at in the end of the video, and the “5” in the subway of the video and KK’s IG post, it’s just like, hmmm… sure it could be a coincidence (sorry, Koincidence), but this kind of thing happens all.the.time with those two. When you look back at everything this era it’s pretty overwhelming and I say this as a skeptical person, for real!
I’m with you on the Kaylor Konspiracies! I went down that rabbit hole a few weeks ago and now I tell everyone — if anything ever suspicious happens to me — you guys get in touch with the Kaylor Klan to figure it out! They’re amazing armchair detectives! (If Bob Mueller hired these people — the Russia konnections would be blown wide open in about 24 hours — 2 days tops!). Once they link all the lyrics, posts, and videos together it’s impossible to “unsee” it and you see it everywhere. For example, in her “Day in the Life” commercial for ATT (which was released in conjunction with Reputation and something you would think would be completely innocuous), Taylor actually hides in a closet (“And now she’s hiding in a closet. . . And now she’s locked in the closet”) while wearing the Marc Jacobs rainbow Adidas stripe tennis shoes. Coincidence? Maybe — although this is just one tiny example that the Kaylor detectives have snooped out and it’s hard to believe that there would be SO MANY of the coincidences like this one and the most recent ones from the Delicate video and Karlie’s subsequent instagram post. After reading though it all, it not only made me a true believer but I now also find Taylor infinitely more interesting as an artist (I actually now think Reputation is her best album — a huge love letter to Karlie) and feel sad for her on a personal level.
My most shallow dream is to see them together forever.
I am too. I am fascinated that it has taken on a life of its own.
I think they were pretty serious and that Joe is creepily a boy Karlie! I am under the weather and stuck in bed, so anything that entertains me now is welcomed. lol
Kaylor. I always wanted to be a super sleuth. lol
Wow, I never thought I’d be interested, but this kaylor Konspiracies are beyond fun!!
I don’t really have anything to add here that hasn’t already been said by fellow commenters. She’s a basic, forgettable white girl who lucked out.
VS shows are a powerful example of feminism? Um, no we aren’t falling for the bullshit she’s spewing.
Karlie Kloss dates Jared Kushner’s brother. So. F*ck her is basically what I’m saying.
I mean, sure, if she actually owns it. But most women who make this argument just strike me as traditionally beautiful women who benefit from playing to those standards of objectification. She might find it a lot harder to “own” her sexuality if she wasn’t a literal model and having to demand space to be seen as having sexual desires and agency.
The only thing I’ll give VS (since I work for them) is that the models are actually allowed to have personalities, particularly on the runway. Hired for their beauty, sure, but at least they’re acknowledged as people.
What does that even mean??
a woman who owns her sexuality. what the fuck does that even mean? is there someone else that owns my sexuality? every person owns their sexuality, and that might have so many expressions.
A futile attempt to rationalise to herself the participation in an atavistic ridiculous panty parade.