On ‘I Am Cait,’ a Wardrobe Tour Reveals Fashion’s Fixation on Caitlyn Jenner

The debut on Sunday night of Caitlyn Jenner’s new reality TV show, “I Am Cait,” was full of emotional moments, as well as Kardashians, as you might expect. But tucked away in the family revelations and inspiration was a pretty interesting moment between Kim Kardashian and Ms. Jenner, in, of all places, Ms. Jenner’s closet.
Ms. Kardashian had demanded a tour, and Ms. Jenner had obliged, pulling out garments with glee: dresses by Tom Ford, Diane von Furstenberg, and the like. According to Ms. Jenner, designers had been sending A LOT of stuff. She was excited.It emphasizes a post last week on Ms. Jenner’s blog, in which she explained the genesis of her Versace dress at the ESPY Awards: “Donatella Versacereached out to me and said, ‘I want to do the dress.’ I said, ‘I am SO in.’ We started with designs; they made the dress in Italy. Her head dressmaker came over, and we did two fittings to make sure we got it just absolutely perfect. It was like every fantasy of my life come true.”
Fashion, it seems, has a new favorite celebrity.
On the one hand, you could interpret this as simple generosity and designers being charmed by the idea of playing fairy godmother, waving their wands and helping someone feel beautiful. And I am sure that is part of it.
Brands love being involved in a Cinderella story, after all: It is part of the essential narrative of fashion. And Ms. Jenner embodies that transformation story more powerfully than perhaps any other public figure in many years.
But it’s hard not to think that Ms. Jenner’s 2.73 million Twitter followers and 3.2 million Instagram followers (as of Monday morning) also have something to do with it. Her potential marketing power is enormous — even more so given the television show. To be associated with that, as well as the supportive and individual value system Ms. Jenner has made it her mission to promote, is invaluable on many levels.
This year, Make Up for Ever became the first brand to sign a transgender model, Andreja Pejic, to a beauty contract. I wonder how many fashion brands have already approached Ms. Jenner? After all, as my colleague Mike Hale pointed out in his review of “I Am Cait,” Ms. Jenner is “a polished, effective pitchwoman.” Will we see her in the front row of shows come September and the next ready-to-wear season? I wouldn’t be surprised.
But despite the fact that the platform for getting her message across globally would be amplified by a brand ambassador contract — with all the glossy exposure that implies — and that the money involved could go to support a transgender support group, I hope she remains independent of the commercial machine.
In the long run, I think it would give her more power to be beholden to no single brand, but to be a friend to all.