I really do believe I am a brand for my fans

This much is known to anyone: Kardashian is famous,gorgeous and lives her life voluntarily under the microscope of reality television.

For many longtime readers of W,the elite society bible,the appearance of the reality television star Kim Kardashian on the cover of its November issue was an outrage No iteration of W should give credence to such banalities,wrote one angered reader. For many residents of SoHo,the appearance of a Kardashian-owned clothing boutique in their neighbourhood two weeks ago was an unwelcome event,made more upsetting when a mob of fans turned up and prompted calls to 911. The amount of hostility toward Kardashian seems to raise the same question you might ask when presented with the amount of admiration for her,or the fact that,on her Twitter account,she has 5.3 million followers: Why do people care?

This much is known to anyone: Kardashian is famous,gorgeous and lives her life voluntarily under the microscope of reality television. The branding expert Robert K. Passikoff put it in a phone interview this week,You would have had to be living in a cave in Nepal to have not been exposed in one way or another to the celebrity ilk of Kim Kardashian. The scene on the corner of Broadway and Broome Street on Tuesday at noon suggested there were few,if any,cave-dwelling Nepali tourists in the vicinity of SoHo that day. There was a line of more than 100 men and women of varying nationalities,most in their 20s,waiting behind a sign in front of the Bebe store that invited them to meet Kardashian.

She was wearing a black blazer with velvet panels,black Bebe leggings and her hair in a bun. Turning toward the cameras,she offered up her signature lookthe head tilted slightly,lips apart,as if she had just blown a kiss.

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The occasion was the introduction of a jewellry collection designed by her for Bebe,which is being sold alongside the dresses,leggings and tops she already designs for Bebe. Kardashian,along with her sisters Kourtney and Khloé,and their mother,Kris Jenner,command a branding empire that includes fashion boutiques,fitness videos,credit cards,a best-selling fragrance,skin care products and a self tanner. Kardashian,who made her debut on the public stage in the form of a sex tape,stands out for the fact that she is generally still regarded in a positive light by many consumers.

Outside Bebe,though,a more complicated picture emerged as to what draws all these young people to Kardashian. Most of them had heard about the event on Twitter,and most said they saw something inspiring in her example. But what does she represent?

She represents fashion, said Wendy Sosa,22,a waitress from the Bronx. I like the way she dresses.

Kardashian,who is 30,is unfailingly polite when discussing her brand,one that was largely created through her public exposure since 2007 on the E! reality show Keeping Up With the Kardashians.

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I really do believe I am a brand for my fans, she said.

She does not talk about design in terms of cut or craft,either,but of Twitter and Facebook,of blogs and text messages. What she and her sisters create and sell are products based on their own image,and not much of it is particularly distinctive from the standard uniforms of Southern California nightclubs. All of her jewellry collections have a slightly vintage feel and strong influences of Armenian design,reflecting her familial roots.

I try to find inspiration from what is on the runway. We make the kind of clothes we like to wear,we give answers to the questions our customers are asking. I think thats why weve been successful, she said.Eric Wilson

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