Daily Skimm

You’d be forgiven for thinking Kim Kardashian’s random cardigan was the most noteworthy element of her Met Gala look — after all, the sweater launched 1,000 memes, headlines, and conspiracy theories. The real talker, though, is what people noticed once they (eventually) got past the perplexing knitwear choice: her “almost nonexistent” waist. Kardashian’s corset was so extreme, many questioned where her internal organs were hiding, let alone if she could breathe (for the record, she could, but it was “an art form”). Of course, this is on brand for Kardashian, whose Met Gala looks repeatedly spark weeks of online discourse — and accusations of promoting unrealistic body standards. Remember two years ago, when she gushed about the crash diet that allowed her to fit into Marilyn Monroe’s “Happy Birthday, Mr. President” dress? Or when she took “corset breathing lessons” in 2019 to wear a dress so restrictive she later said she’d “never felt pain like that in my life”?

While Kardashian’s who-needs-ribs look was by the far the most startling, there was so much body sculpting and waist cinching on the red carpet that one headline declared: “The Rib-Crunching Corset Was The True ‘Sleeping Beauty’ Reawoken At The 2024 Met Gala.” You saw it on Tyla, Taylor Russell, Gigi Hadid, Donatella Versace, and too many others to name. The only trend nearly as popular was fabric so see through and barely there that it “seemed primarily designed to show off gym-toned physiques.” Combined, it’s another — frankly depressing — marker of the cultural backslide to early-aughts body norms in the age of Ozempic. Of all the late ‘90s and early ‘00s things we wanted to come back (see: denim-on-denim and vests-as-shirts), this isn’t it.