Kim Kardashian West's Tiny Met Gala Waist Explained: 'I Can Only Half Sit'
Kim Kardashian West gave fans an inside look as she prepared for the 2019 Met Gala — including a peek at exactly how she achieved that extra-tiny waist for the glamorous evening.
In a behind-the-scenes Vogue video, cameras captured the Keeping Up With the Kardashian star during her last fitting in Los Angeles before fashion’s biggest night out.
The fitting begins, revealing Kardashian West’s secret to her uber-small waist: a custom-made, nude-colored corset, complete with Spanx that stops just above her knees and clear shoulder straps.
It takes three assistants to strap her into the bodysuit, which was custom-made by Mr. Pearl — a French corsetier well known in the industry.
Over the corset, Kardashian West sported a silicone Thierry Mugler mini dress dripping with several crystals for the “Camp“-themed event.
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“Okay, so Anna, if I don’t sit down for dinner, now you know why. I’ll be walking around mingling, talking, but I cannot hardly sit,” Kardashian West said in the video, addressing Vogue‘s editor-in-chief Anna Wintour. “I can only like, half sit.”
The video fast-forwards to conclude just hours before Kardashian West’s arrival at the Met’s pink carpet, as her makeup and hair team put on the final touches before she suits up and has to refrain from using the restroom for several hours.
Even before worrying about sitting down at dinner, Kardashian West had to figure out how she’d get to the Met. Instead of riding in a car, she rode through the streets of New York in a van that she could stand up in. “Just wish me luck,” she said to the camera.
“We wanted to mix California girl style with Mugler,” the reality star said, adding that she knew right away she wanted the French fashion designer to collaborate on her Met Gala look.
“I remember specifically, the day the theme of the Met was announced, Kanye and I were on a group chat right away and was like, ‘okay, it’s camp,'” she added. “Then it’s Mr. Mugler. Like he is, like the king of camp. Like he invented camp.”
Be sure to check out all of PEOPLE’s Met Gala coverage to get the latest news on fashion’s biggest night.
Kardashian West’s afterparty look was just as show-stopping: she changed into an electric blue mini dress also designed by Mugler and also requiring a corset.
The dress’s plunging neckline revealed a belly button — though it’s unclear whether or not it was drawn on to the corset or if it was her own. She maintained the crystal theme from earlier in the night with a sparkling silver wig.
Although Kardashian West’s look turned heads on Monday evening, not all of the attention was positive. Some criticized her corseted torso. The beauty mogul’s trainer Melissa Alcantara came to her defense, however, sharing on Instagram that although Kardashian West was wearing a corset, she still works hard for her fit frame.
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“To make things clear 1. This dress is corseted BUT 2. Kim trains her ass off 6 days a f— week, she wakes up early af and is dedicated. 3. I paved the road for her but SHE did the work! I love compliments either way,” Alcantara said. “I don’t give a s— about your opinions on her body if you think she fake or not! I see her every morning, I see her train and I see her sweat and I see all the work she does outside of the gym and THAT is commendable!”
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“I’ve never seen a team like this before,” Kardashian West added in the video, as several assistants help her into the dress. “This is like, beyond what I ever thought couture was.”
The star planned ahead on how to treat herself after a night of barely being able to sit down.
“I have doughnuts waiting for me tomorrow morning, hot, fresh doughnuts,” she said from the pink carpet Monday night. “They are special ones from here — vanilla with rainbow sprinkles.”