Kim Kardashian has often honored celebrity fashion icons in her own actions and outfits choices, whether that’s donning Marilyn Monroe’s dress for the Met Gala or appearing on the Hulu docuseries In Vogue: The 90s (a 2024 TV schedule entry) honoring Vogue editor Anna Wintour. Now it’s Princess Diana who’s getting a shoutout from the reality star fashionista, as Kardashian paired a low-cut white gown with a large cross necklace for a charity event in Los Angeles on Saturday night.
We’re not talking any old cross necklace either. Kim Kardashian showed off the iconic Attallah Cross pendant that Princess Di famously wore back in the 1980s. The American Horror Story: Delicate star reportedly purchased the piece in a 2023 auction at Sotheby's for a whopping $200,000 but had never before worn the necklace in public.
Kim Kardashian, who attended the 2024 LACMA Art + Film Gala on November 2, paired the jewelry with a floor-length white gown featuring a plunging neckline, adding an ivory jacket that she wore off of her bare shoulders.The amethyst cross was held by a pearl necklace alongside another pearl necklace and choker, nodding at how Princess Diana styled the necklace for the Birthright charity gala in 1987, which you can see below:
William and Harry’s mother was simply a work of art, pairing the statement piece with her regal purple velvet Catherine Walker gown.
The Attallah Cross was crafted in the 1920s by the jeweler Garrard. It comprises several large, square-cut amethysts surrounded by 5.25 carats of circular-cut diamonds. While Diana never owned the necklace, she borrowed it from Naim Attallah on several occasions, and apparently no one else had ever been seen wearing it until now.
I love that both the late Princess Di and Kim Kardashian wore the Attallah Cross at a charity event and did so in a way that reflected the fashion trends of their respective eras. While both looks incorporated pearls, Diana’s necklace was long, evoking ‘80s fashion icons like Madonna.
This is certainly another notch in Kim Kardashian’s cap as far as celebrity memorabilia. In addition to borrowing (and possibly damaging?) Marilyn Monroe’s dress from Ripley’s Believe It or Not for the 2022 Met Gala, the SKIMS boss has also procured items including Elizabeth Taylor’s jade and diamond bracelets and Jackie Kennedy’s Cartier watch.
She also gifted brother Rob Kardashian some rings that formerly belonged to Elvis Presley, and her oldest child North West has the actual hat and jacket worn by Michael Jackson in the “Smooth Criminal” music video.
While The Kardashians star certainly seems to have a thing for acquiring one-of-a-kind fashion items, she also seems pretty strategic in how she chooses to show them off. One has to wonder if and when we’ll see the Attallah Cross again, or what the next big celebrity item will be.
In the meantime, we’re also still waiting for the next season of The Kardashians to premiere. While the series (available to stream with a Hulu subscription) has been renewed for at least 20 more episodes, with no premiere date, it looks like Season 6 might be hitting the small screen next year.
