Kim Kardashian Dragged for Assuming Her Perfumes Are Only for Women
Update: April 30: at 4:30 p.m. EST
A week after she was accused of copying Jean Paul Gaultier‘s perfume design, Kim Kardashian is in the hot seat again—this time, for assuming that her perfumes are only for women. Last week, Kim responded to a fan who asked if KKW Fragrance’s newest perfume, KKW Body, is unisex. “No but we have a unisex coming out in the fall,” Kim tweeted.
The response sparked backlash from many fans who criticized Kim for assigning genders to her perfumes. Many accused her of excluding men and suggesting that her scents are only for women. Several brought up the point that perfumes, like many beauty products, can be used by both genders, meaning that they are inherently unisex, regardless of Kim’s marketing.
Original story: April 27 at 11:45 a.m. EST
After a week of teasers, Kim Kardashian revealed the bottle for KKW Fragrance’s newest perfume, KKW Body, on Thursday. The perfume bottle, which was made out of a mold of the 37-year-old’s body, was a first in the beauty industry, but everyone was convinced of Kim’s achievement. Soon after the reveal, the KKW Beauty founder star was flooded with accusations, claiming that she copied Jean Paul Gaultier‘s 1993 perfume, Classique. One of the accusers? Mr. Gaultier himself.
Hours after Kim’s reveal, the fashion designer took to his Instagram to post a picture of his iconic perfume, which also features a woman’s body without arms, legs, and a head. “Keeping up with the fragrance’s news! #Classique#JeanPaulGaultier,” he captioned the Instagram, throwing shade at the “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” star’s suspiciously similar design.
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Likewise, hundreds of fans also noticed the similarity and called out Kim for plagiarizing Gaultier’s idea. Many cited other incidences of plagiarism by the Kardashian-Jenners, such as Kylie Jenner‘s camo streetwear line and Khloé Kardashian‘s bedazzled bodysuit, as evidence that the family has a history of stealing.
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However, Kim isn’t taking the accusations lying down. In an interview with Cosmopolitan, the E! personality hit back at her accusers, explaining that her perfume bottle was inspired by statues and sculptures—not Gaultier’s perfume. Though she admitted that she loves Gaultier’s bottle, she denied claims that KKW Fragrance’s perfume was based on it.
“Sculptures were my inspiration, but I love that bottle,” she said. “It’s iconic and celebrates the woman’s body, but my inspiration was a statue. I wanted [mine] to be really personal with my exact mold, but I’ve always loved the Gaultier bottles.”
The middle Kardashian sister also revealed that she will make a life-sized sculpture from her perfume’s mold, which she will display somewhere in her house. “We were making a mold of my body for the fragrance, but we were also making it to make a big sculpture,” she said.
As for if Kim is guilty of plagiarism, it’s a “he said, she said” situation right now. Fans and Gaultier are confident that Kim plagiarized, while Kim denies it. Oy, where is the beauty police when you need them.
