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The Case of Kylie Jenner’s ‘Copied’ Instagram Pose

Alaina Demopoulos
Style Writer

Updated 07.17.19 6:00AM ET

Published 07.17.19 5:25AM ET

Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast/Getty

The Kardashian-Jenner clan’s alleged offenses are many, from cultural appropriation claims to all
those pets that mysteriously disappear. Even casual followers of the family probably know that their
social media accounts are a goldmine of misdeeds. But in the latest mini-controversy, let it be said:
Kylie Jenner did no wrong.
MADE OF MONEY
For Kylie Jenner, ‘Self-Made’ Billionaire, It’s All Personal

Alaina Demopoulos

Per Cosmopolitan, where editors keep a gleeful tally of these types of stories: on Sunday, Jenner
posted a photo showing her in “vacation mode.” Your “vacation mode” might be drinking a $14
Guinness at an airport bar while you wait for a delayed plane; Jenner’s is fully nude, sitting atop a
stone pool deck, legs crossed and breasts covered, a straw hat tall enough to ride a rollercoaster
obstructing her head. The wealth flex has since amassed over 10 million likes on Instagram.
 kyliejenner View Profile
140.7m followers

View More on Instagram

10,952,312 likes
kyliejenner

vacation mode
What would become just another money shot quickly formed into a late day mini-scandal when the
influencer Amanda Ensing decided to comment on the snap. Ensing is a woman I did not know
existed until around 2 p.m. Monday, but her Instagram account documents a life spent frolicking in
a field of sunflowers and sipping frozen drinks out of pineapples, so clearly she is doing something
right with her life.

Around a month ago, Ensing went on a “vacation mode” of her own in Mexico, where she also
stripped down and crossed her legs, bravely sitting her bare self down on the pavement. Just like
Kylie, her fingers sport a mile-long neon manicure, she wears a shell anklet and a telltale straw hat. I
assume the naked shot is meant to communicate “sex”; to me it harks back not to coitus but the act
of frying rice on a Hibachi grill—seriously, the ground looks very hot! I can only hope the Instagram
boyfriend Ensing often calls upon to grab her “peach emoji” totes a potent sunscreen, too.
 amandaensing View Profile
Mexico

View More on Instagram

83,885 likes
amandaensing

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
she is the perfect
example of grace
because she is a
butterfly
 butterfly
with bullet holes
in her wings
that never regretted
learning to fly Ƌ
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
•
•
•
•
#mexico #travel #summervibes #love #fashion #tulum

Ensing commented on Jenner’s copycat post, writing, “This photo looks awfully familiar ǐ؅,” but the
world’s youngest billionaire had no patience for plagiarism accusations.

Jenner replied directly to Ensing’s burn with her own zinger: “from the words of Kim K ur not on my
mood board but i did get my inspo off Pinterest.” Translation: Ensing’s pose was a rather basic one
that can be found in droves just by searching #Tulum or #Vacay hashtags.

Of course, no one really owns the act of reclining nude in a straw hat. Art can be a reflection of our
deepest desires, and who doesn’t want to be tan and pants-less on the beach? As far back as 1892,
the French impressionist Pierre-Auguste Renoir produced the oil on canvas “Nude in a Straw Hat.”
Its title serves as description: A pink-skinned young woman with ample red hair covering her bosom
sits staring over an expansive lake, with no clothes except a flower-adorned boater over her head.

The Hungarian fashion photographer Martin Munkácsi borrowed Renoir’s title for a 1944 Harper’s
Bazaar shoot, which resulted in one of the glossy’s first-ever nude photographs. In the black-and-
white shot, a model straddles a log. Her back is to us, and though the straw hat is supposedly the
star of the show, my eyes were drawn to the three delicate, bony bumps along her spine.

In 2011, the artist Giuliano Bekor released a series of “Nude Men in Couture Hats,” looking much
like the previous examples, except starring intimidatingly chiseled male models. Just last year, Bella
Hadid welcomed summer in Mexico, wearing thong swimsuit bottoms, a Smart Car-sized straw hat,
and nothing else.
 bellahadid View Profile
25.1m followers

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1,481,008 likes
bellahadid

in my leisure suite
Unfortunately for Ensing, her case against Jenner does not have an artfully crossed leg to stand on.
Common sense would imply that no one can claim body language as their own. After all, just about
every female entrepreneur who graces the cover of Forbes or Fortune is asked to cross her arms and
stare directly at the camera. But Jenner also has a court ruling on her side.

As pointed out to me by Susan Scafidi, the founder and director of Fordham University’s Fashion
Law Institute, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled in 2005 that
“photographers can’t own the idea of the scene, just [their] specific expression.”

This came about when a photographer named Bill Diodato sued Kate Spade, the company, after he
submitted a photo to the brand. The (sort of gross) conceit of his image was a shot of a woman’s feet
seen peeking underneath a bathroom stall. She wore strappy stilettos and lace panties hanging down
to her ankles, with a satchel on the floor next to her.

“Although the idea of using a woman sitting on a toilet to showcase stylish shoes and other
fashion accessories is a clever one, it is an idea that has been used oen in popular culture.”

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Later, the brand created its own version of the ad, shot in-house but looking much like Diodato’s
image. He sued, claiming his idea was copyrighted and that the trademark was infringed upon. The
court dismissed the charges, since Diodato’s photo wasn’t used—just the idea and posturing.

Per the judge’s opinion: “Although the idea of using a woman sitting on a toilet to showcase stylish
shoes and other fashion accessories is a clever one, it is an idea that has been used often in popular
culture.”

This is why, every few years, a new “Instagram pose” floods our feeds, with everyone from Emily
Ratajkowski to your old neighbor who won’t stop posting about her baby trying it out for
themselves. First it was duck lips to look cuter (very gauche now, please don’t attempt), then it was
Bambi Foot to look taller. Squatting, blocking the sun with your hands, and flipping hair have all
had their days, too.

Now, I guess Jenner and Ensing have spoken: The time has come for us to take off our clothes and
hide under hats. Just please wear sunscreen, and careful of burning your bum.

Alaina Demopoulos
Style Writer
alaina.demopoulos@thedailybeast.com

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OMINOUS
Tweet Fight Means Trump Knows Now He Has the Power to Tear
Us Apart — And He’s Itching To Do More Of It
Michael Tomasky
Special Correspondent

Updated 07.17.19 11:33AM ET

Published 07.17.19 10:44AM ET

OPINION

Photo Illustration by Kelly Caminero/The Daily Beast/Getty

Why is Donald Trump pleased by the controversy over his tweets? Because it’s made him realize
more than ever before that he has the power to blow the country up over race.

The New York Times reported Wednesday morning that Donald Trump is thrilled about the
controversy stoked by his Sunday morning—and continuing—Twitter barrage aimed at the Squad.
There’s an ominous lesson in here. The episode seems to have given Trump a new understanding of
his power over his supporters and a new sense of destiny. If this doesn’t scare you, you’d better wake
up.

Trump was always a racist. He ran on stoking racial fear from the beginning, as many have
observed. He and his father were racists 40 years ago.
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