Kim Kardashian and Kanye West: The complicated legacy of the 'First Couple of the selfie generation'

"A historic blizzard of celebrity" is how The New York Times famously referred to Kim Kardashian and Kanye West's 2014 Italian wedding. And when you consider the celebrity couples whose mythology has endured long after not only their marriages, but also their lives, have ended, it's the fascination with who they were and what they brought to the union that separates the ones we remember from the ones no one writes books about.

Glamour, sophistication, money, fame, talent and breeding are all aspects that have traditionally fed into successful marriage mythology.

But what if you were to also add a dollop of unabashed love of money, a teaspoon of sell-your-own-grandmother-for-fame, then sprinkle in a dash of modern fairy tale, before marinating in millions of social media followers and a 24-hour news cycle?

Then you'd have the recipe for the Kim-Kanye West marriage. A union that, despite having ended after six years as husband and wife, will impact how celebrities position themselves in the brand-marriage job market these days.

Here are four ways in which Kimye’s marriage has changed fame culture …

1. The unabashed pursuit and appreciation of fame

This might come as a surprise, but while there have always been those who would do anything for fame, it wasn’t until the Kardashians went hell for leather in their quest for global celebrity in full view of their own 24/7 camera crew, that it was seen as a legitimate path to success. Prior to that, the idea of pursuing fame for fame’s sake was considered, well, a little tacky.

Sure, Paris Hilton had done the whole "famous for being famous" thing in The Simple Life, but she was already born on third base thanks to that surname of hers.

When they met, Kardashian was already firmly ensconced in the "fame at all costs" lifestyle, but let us not forget, so too was West, whose "I am the greatest" declarations and stage-bombing of Taylor Swift showed him to be just as hungry as Kardashian.

Together, they melded West's old-school way of getting famous (possessing talent) with her modern approach (a willingness to do anything) and created a brand that was unapologetic in its thirst for more.

2. Pride in the side hustle

For the uninitiated, a side hustle is a money-making project that is separate from your day job. Best perfected by Gen Z, whose introduction into an oversaturated job market resulted in the "do anything" gig economy, the side hustle can be, for some, the difference between this month's rent and next month's eviction.

Prior to Kardashian and West, the Hollywood side hustle was Tinseltown’s dirty little secret. Why else do you think the A-list snuck off to Asia to make bank on their big-money adverts? The idea was that if you were discovered to have a side hustle, then it might be construed as your main gig not being very successful. Which, in a town as terrified of failure as Hollywood is, would smack of (whisper it) career death.

With their Yeezys and Skims, Kardashian and West didn't invent the concept of the family brand – after all, the Kennedys sold power and glamour just as hard as Brand Beckham sold his and hers fragrances – but they did completely destigmatise it by thumbing their noses at Hollywood and its snobby, unwritten rules about staying in your lane.

3. Perpetuating the (modern) fairy tale

Ever since Cinderella cast off her rags, slid her foot into the glass slipper and married her prince, the idea of the makeover has been fully ingrained in the concept of celebrity. After all, Hollywood thrives on tales of young ingenues being plucked from Nowheresville, America, and set on their path to the Oscars.

Since Keeping Up With the Kardashians premiered in October 2007, Kardashian's long slog from Hilton's sidekick to uber-influential multi-millionaire had always lacked one thing: cool.

Enter West and his Italy weddings and Givenchy wedding dresses. Not to mention his ability to call Anna Wintour and land the April 2014 Vogue cover, an image that led Time magazine to say what we were all thinking: "Yes, that's actually Kim Kardashian on the cover of Vogue."

With West very much in prince mode, Kardashian's transition from reality shows to social media princess didn't come about from a discarded Louboutin on the steps of the Met Gala ball, but rather in season seven of KUWTK when West brought along his personal stylist to gut her wardrobe in a makeover that would have an enduring legacy.

For not only did he make over Kardashian that day, but later down the line, he would be responsible for the entire family, including matriarch Kris Jenner and the couple’s four children, all but abandoning the concept of colour in their wardrobes, as West created his own family of wickedly neutrally attired stepsisters.

4. Fuelling the 'opposites attract' narrative

As with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West showed that polar opposites make for headline-grabbing marriages. Reuters

If John F Kennedy Jr had wed a similarly silver-spoon-fed trust fund baby with a surname, would we have been as in thrall to the enduring modern-day Cinderella story that his PR director wife Carolyn Bessette brought to the New York fairy tale romance?

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West: a relationship timeline

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Consider how dull history would have been had King Edward VIII married a nice, homely countess instead of the scandalously twice-divorced American socialite Wallis Simpson. Or if Prince Harry had settled down with Cressida Bonas rather than Meghan Markle.

What Kardashian, the face of being famous for being famous, and West, the award-winning rapper and lyricist, gave us, students of celebrity culture should note, was another opportunity to remind ourselves that fame, celebrity, life, is a million dollars more interesting when opposites attract.

"Get thee a good husband, and use him as he uses thee," Shakespeare wrote in All's Well That Ends Well.

He could have been writing the book of a modern money-making celebrity marriage.

The specs

Engine: 5.0-litre supercharged V8

Transmission: Eight-speed auto

Power: 575bhp

Torque: 700Nm

Price: Dh554,000

On sale: now

Dhadak 2

Director: Shazia Iqbal

Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri

Rating: 1/5

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What the law says

Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.

“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.

“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”

If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.

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INDIA SQUAD

Rohit Sharma (captain), Shikhar Dhawan (vice-captain), KL Rahul, Suresh Raina, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik (wicketkeeper), Deepak Hooda, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Vijay Shankar, Shardul Thakur, Jaydev Unadkat, Mohammad Siraj and Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper)

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Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm

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Genes in Space is an annual competition first launched by the UAE Space Agency, The National and Boeing in 2015.

It challenges school pupils to design experiments to be conducted in space and it aims to encourage future talent for the UAE’s fledgling space industry. It is the first of its kind in the UAE and, as well as encouraging talent, it also aims to raise interest and awareness among the general population about space exploration.

What can victims do?

Always use only regulated platforms

Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion

Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)

Report to local authorities

Warn others to prevent further harm

Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence

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Monday, Sept 30

Al Sadd v Esteghlal (8pm)
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5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed

MATCH INFO

Who: France v Italy
When: Friday, 11pm (UAE)
TV: BeIN Sports

US households add $601bn of debt in 2019

American households borrowed another $601 billion (Dh2.2bn) in 2019, the largest yearly gain since 2007, just before the global financial crisis, according to February data from the New York Federal Reserve Bank.

Fuelled by rising mortgage debt as homebuyers continued to take advantage of low interest rates, the increase last year brought total household debt to a record high, surpassing the previous peak reached in 2008 just before the market crash, according to the report.

Following the 22nd straight quarter of growth, American household debt swelled to $14.15 trillion by the end of 2019, the New York Fed said in its quarterly report.

In the final three months of the year, new home loans jumped to their highest volume since the fourth quarter of 2005, while credit cards and auto loans also added to the increase.

The bad debt load is taking its toll on some households, and the New York Fed warned that more and more credit card borrowers — particularly young people — were falling behind on their payments.

"Younger borrowers, who are disproportionately likely to have credit cards and student loans as their primary form of debt, struggle more than others with on-time repayment," New York Fed researchers said.