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Kardashian Entrepreneurship: An Alternative Path to Success 
By: Eleanor Unsworth

In a recent episode of Hulu’s The Kardashians, Kendall Jenner expressed a new passion you might not expect from a successful supermodel: house flipping. Despite her career in an artistic, expressive field, Jenner professes that she “doesn’t have much say in anything creative really.” After working with renowned designers Kathleen and Tommy Clements on her own home remodel, Jenner knew she had found an outlet to express herself. “It’s a genuine reflection of who I am and what I like,” she professes.

Being an architectural design student myself, I was surprised when I first learned about Jenner’s interest. Why would someone at the apex of the fashion industry want to spend her free time with “HGTV-esque” pursuits? And how does someone like Kendall enter into real estate and design that easily? In my architecture program, we take a rigorous, conceptual, and intellectual approach to design, with my professors emphasizing complexity and nuances of design fields. 

 

Of course, I’m aiming to earn a degree that will qualify me to

become a licensed architect, while Jenner is exploring a design-related pastime. However, our pathways to the design field remain radically different. This begs the question, could Kendall be considered a designer? That label is often confined only to those with certain education or experience, but Jenner seems to be making her own path to navigate this specialty.

 

Entering the creative field at any capacity is known to present many obstacles. With most careers requiring at least a bachelor degree from an accredited institution, financial and time barriers are notable factors. Additionally, Australian Design Review notes that “new research from Think Education reveals that young designers and creatives are twice as likely than graduates in other professions to cite a ‘lack of industry connections’ as their biggest career hurdle.” Even after years of schooling and troubling accumulation of student debt, designers still struggle to secure a position in the field. Kendall Jenner, and the Kardashians in general, will likely never face those barriers. 

 

Clearly, the Kardashian name holds an enormous amount of power and credibility, giving them a leg up on your run-of-the-mill entrepreneur. According to Seventeen Magazine, the Kardashian Dynasty has started over 26 businesses since the early 2000s. These range from iconic labels like SKIMS and Kylie Cosmetics to the little-known failures of  “Kardashian Khaos” and “PerfectSkin.” Kendall Jenner’s past and current business ventures include “818 Tequila,” the “Kendall Jenner Teeth Whitening Pen” with MOON, “Kendall & Kylie” mobile game app, and “Kendall + Kylie” with Pacsun. It would seem as though the Kardashians don’t face many difficulties moving from a business idea to an actual operational company. 

 

Kim Kardashian came under fire after a Variety interview in March 2022 when she said her biggest advice to women in business was to “get your f-cking ass up and work,” complaining that “no one wants to work these days.” She was immediately criticized for her ignorance of the vast advantages she possesses from name, money, and status. One could argue that some of her ignorance is due to the fact that she doesn't face the same risks that make starting a business so daunting to other entrepreneurs. Overall, the success or failure of one of the Kardashian brands is unlikely to make or break their financial ability to live a comfortable life. 

 

When Kendall toured a residence for a potential house-flipping project, I found my blood boiling as she casually mentioned “knocking down” or “pushing back walls” to change the spaces within the house. As I am in the midst of learning about the architectural structures and systems, I know a wall being  “pushed back” could present complications depending on the structural importance or systems it contains. The way architecture and design is presented in The Kardashians is vastly over simplified, perhaps to cater to the audience, or maybe it is a true reflection of Kendall’s knowledge of the field. Either way, the clip reinforced the notion that the Kardashians are disconnected from the realistic difficulties and obstacles faced in the “real world,” as entrepreneurs or just non-celebrities in society. I can't say I criticize them for this deficiency, because obviously they didn't choose to be born into the Kardashian family. But I do think it’s important to note their unique advantages in entering competitive fields, and not treat their entrepreneurial success as a realistic standard.

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Photos by William Abranowicz at Architectural Digest 

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