Image Source: YouTube/ FX
“American Horror Story” is back for its 12th season, and things look a little different this year – mostly due to one key person: Kim Kardashian. Although Kardashian is most widely recognized for her reality-TV career, she’s made quite a few cameos in films and television shows over the years, but her role on “American Horror Story: Delicate” is arguably the most prominent. This season of the show is based on the novel “Delicate Condition,” written by Danielle Valentine. Kardashian plays Siobhan Walsh, a publicist to actor Anna Victoria Alcott (Emma Roberts), who is simultaneously trying to pursue both an Oscar and becoming pregnant with her first child. Things start to get spooky when Alcott believes there is a sinister plot afoot to stop her from having a baby.
While the show is certainly unnerving, we can find solace in one thing: Kardashian’s costumes, hair, and makeup on the show have been nothing less than perfect. Luckily for us, her hairstylist, Andrew Fitzsimons, is breaking down the inspiration behind the styles and sharing exactly how to achieve one of them.
On the show, Kardashian’s looks are chic and pulled together – exactly what you’d expect from a high-powered publicist who doesn’t take sh*t from anyone (and the real Kardashian, for that matter). However, the process of coming up with the styles was certainly a challenge. “In my usual work with Kim, we’re typically styling her for red carpets, special events, and editorial shoots, so the look we create matches the vibe and aesthetic of the occasion,” Fitzsimons tells POPSUGAR. “When it comes to TV, the look needs to feed the characteristics of her role and the job she has on the show.”
With this in mind, Fitzsimons consulted with the wardrobe team to determine the outfits she’d be wearing and drew ideas from the silhouette of the clothes. “We had to keep things stylish and glamorous while still acknowledging she was heading to work, and the look had to be something she could, in theory, wake up and do herself,” he says. Rather than putting her in a hairstyle that would make it obvious she had an entire glam team involved, Fitzsimons was thinking about what would be realistic for a woman in her role.
“With the show, we were putting the character’s identity at the forefront and had conversations about what [Siobhan’s] aesthetic and look was,” he says. “I was able to push the boundaries more outside the norm while still keeping the looks iconically Kim.”
In episode two, we see her in gorgeous soft waves, which Fitzsimons says were meant to fit into an office setting. To achieve the style, Kardashian started with clean, freshly washed hair. Fitzsimons then spritzed her head with the AF1 Restructuring 10-in-1 Leave-In Conditioner ($16) for all-over heat protection, followed by the Model Volume Boosting Wave Spray ($16) for texture. He then used a three-barrel waver to put a slight bend in her hair. (Our favorite tool for this is the Mane Triple Ripple Jumbo Hair Waver ($75)).
Fitzsimons notes that you should start at least one to two inches away from the roots to give your hair a natural look, then use a styler, like the Après Sexe Texture Spray ($16) or the Oribe Dry Texturizing Spray ($49), to give it a tousled look with added volume. He finished off Kardashian’s style by smoothing down flyaways with a soft-hold hairspray and then sprayed her hair with a high-shine spray to give it a glossy finish.
Whether it’s her character’s clever one-liners or her impeccable hair, Kardashian doesn’t disappoint. “You’re doing amazing, sweetie” – Kris Jenner, after watching the first two episodes of “American Horror Story: Delicate,” probably.
