NEW YORK CITY — Kim Kardashian wore an orange fiberglass breastplate at the 2026 Met Gala in New York City, paired with a hand-painted leather skirt. The piece was created by London design practice Whitaker Malem in collaboration with pop artist Allen Jones and visual artist Nadia Lee Cohen.

The breastplate was cast from an original mould derived from Jones's 1969 Hatstand sculpture, repurposing a cast Jones made in 1967 or 1968. Originally a full-body cast, the piece was shortened to end at the hips to allow for movement, and Jones painted vibrant orange brush strokes on the attached leather skirt for continuity with the breastplate. The look paid homage to Jones's poster for the 1975 film Maîtresse. Kardashian attended the gala with Jones, and debuted the look on her Instagram account before appearing on the red carpet.

The collaboration began in early April after Kardashian directly contacted Patrick Whitaker and Keir Malem to build her an outfit for the gala. The breastplate was completed over the course of three weeks. Made from glass-reinforced plastic, it weighed the same as a bag of flour. Initially intended to be pink, the design team ultimately chose orange. The finished piece was sprayed by Martyn Smith at MPS Body and Paint in Lydd, Kent.

"It was several layers, so primers and stoppers and the final paint was solvent base, and finished with a gloss lacquer. It took all day, but it came out so well. I'm not a follower of Kim Kardashian or fashion, but I knew it was going to appear at a big event," Smith said.

Kardashian made several trips to east London to try on the breastplate, and flew to the UK and drove to Jones's Oxfordshire home with a body dummy in her car's luggage hold. She was naked underneath the breastplate at the gala. Recalling a video call at Whitaker Malem's seaside home in Kent, Whitaker said: "We were just talking about how firm her body was, and she was just showing me her breasts on a video call whilst Keir and his dad were eating their dinner in the background."

Kardashian greeted Jones with the words "Welcome to my world! I don't travel without 30 cameras." at her final fitting in New York two days before the red carpet. The breastplate was collected a few days before the gala by a man who flew first class from Los Angeles to New York, and was placed in an overhead locker because it did not have a name label.

"She was very clear on wanting a breastplate, very clear on the car body finish. And I think she was nervous really. She understands the competition," Whitaker said. "We went to bed at 5am. It's surprisingly tedious, isn't it? A bit Hunger Games."