Kim Kardashian Reveals How She Breathed in Her Tiny Met Gala Corset

On Monday, May 6, Kim Kardashian attended the Met Gala in a Manfred Thierry Mugler creation designed to make the reality star look as if she had just emerged from the water, with Kardashian completing the illusion with a “wet” hairstyle and makeup. She also wore a corset by famed corset maker Mr. Pearl, which made Kardashian’s waist look so tiny that it instantly sparked a debate online.

Several days after the gala, Kardashian gave fans some more insight into her look, revealing that she took breathing lessons from Mr. Pearl himself in order to prepare to wear the corset.

“The day that I found out the Met Gala theme was ‘camp’, that same day we called @manfredthierrymugler the King of Camp! We met up in Miami right after the holidays last year and saw the sketches,” Kardashian captioned an Instagram post of herself and Mugler. “I learned so much about couture from this genius man, it was beyond couture, it was art! 7 months in the making and fittings in Montreal, Paris and LA. Corset breathing lessons from none other than Mr. Pearl. It was worth it all!!!”

In 2016, Mr. Pearl told Dazed that “your mind also has to be in order” to wear a corset.

“You cannot rush around. You cannot slouch. You eat moderately, you cannot drink beer, there are certain things you can’t do,” he said. “It’s totally about discipline, yes. It’s all about that. And practice, too, on a daily basis.”

Kardashian also discussed her corset in a video from Vogue that saw the mom of four getting fitted for the look, with the KKW Beauty founder joking that she wouldn’t be able to sit down for dinner at the gala.

“Anna, if I don’t sit down for dinner, now you know why,” she said, referencing Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour. “I can only like, half-sit.”

When Kardashian arrived at the gala, people instantly began commenting on the makeup mogul’s tiny waist, with some going so far as to speculate that the 38-year-old had ribs removed to achieve the look. In response to the criticism, Kardashian’s trainer, Melissa Alcantara, used her Instagram Story to defend her client.

“To make things clear,” Alcantara wrote, “1. This dress is corseted BUT 2. Kim trains her ass off 6 days a f—ing week, she wakes up early AF and is dedicated. 3. I paved the road for her but SHE did the work! MOST IMPORTANTLY I don’t give a s— about your opinions on her body, if you think [it’s] 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 the gym and THAT is commendable!”

Photo Credit: Getty / Kevin Mazur/MG19