Where does Kim Kardashian's diamond necklace come from?

In one of her recent photos the Skims founder wore a 50k Cuban chain studded with diamonds and embellished with pink diamond hearts with her name, handmade by Migos jeweler Eric Mavachev, also known as Eric Da Jeweler. The photo in which she shows it off in the sun has garnered 6 million likes, testifying first and foremost that the post-divorce look of the entrepreneur is breaking through in the hearts of many, but above all that Kim's audience recognizes the necklace with the name tag in her range of cultural references, which bring her in common with Offset of the Migos, Carrie Bradshaw and Maddy of Euphoria. 

From shapewear to the collaboration with Balenciaga, Kim's aesthetic proves to be made of relevant references, always suspended between the latest Barbie-style hyper-feminine trends and borrowings from different subcultures that fascinate her. A stylistic duality that is clearly seen since the celebrity began to approach high fashion with vintage Jean Paul Gaultier hyper-feminine silhouettes and then deepened the contact with the celebration of the body with the recently deceased Mugler, a move that unites her with Cardi B, internationally recognized as one of the most important women of hip-hop. This balance between high fashion and urban culture emerges also in this last important accessory shown where the different sources of inspiration come together, first of all the chains of the hip-hop world with which she has been in close contact in recent years. The chains studded with precious stones are also called "neck-candy" or "iced-out" in the custom high jewelry that fascinates rappers from Jay-Z at the time of Brooklyn Finest to Diddy, then Nipsey Hussle, A$ap Rocky, A$ap Ferg Lil Yacthy, the Migos and Tyler The Creator today.

Necklaces have a precise meaning of personal representation since the days when hip-hop was born from minds that diamonds could only dream of, and today they serve as a representation of the fulfillment of the American dream as Migos state in their docuseries Ice Cold along with guests of the caliber of J Balvin, A$AP Ferg and Slick Rick who testify how rap culture has contributed to reimagine the concept of wealth as told to Hypebeast. The nameplate necklace was already worn as a cultural identifier, a symbol of wealth and success achieved in the urban culture of the 70s, all requirements to which Kim fully responds. In addition, wearing her name on her neck was a symbol of identity representation in the face of discrimination suffered by black and Hispanic minorities, as recounted in the academic paper "Say My Name: Nameplate Jewelry and Politics of Taste" by anthropologist Marcel Rosa Salas and reported by the Instagram profile @documentingthenameplate.

But what does this have to do with Carrie Bradshaw? Millennials can attest that the Big Apple's sex columnist didn't rap or have Latin features, but she did wear a gold chain with her name around her neck from season two onward, which served as the thread of Carrie's emotions on the series, from when she received it as a gift to when she symbolically lost it in Paris. Patricia Field adopted in the styling of the character this touch of coolness worn by so many American women precisely for the representative reasons listed above, although she said that the jewel was inspired by the nameplate necklaces that the customers of her East Village boutique wore, today still for sale online. Sex and The City has been repeatedly accused of appropriating the values of black and Hispanic communities in 1970s New York by drawing inspiration from graffiti and hip-hop culture without adequate representation or credits whatsoever. Over the years, many celebrities have become passionate about the style, from Beyoncè to Hailey Bieber via Kylie Jenner, Irina Shayk, Vanessa Hugdens, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Jennifer Lopez.

The link between TV series, representation, baddie aesthetics and the Latin world could be the nameplate necklace worn by Maddy Perez, the Hispanic-born character with a smoky temperament, who wears a necklace with her name on it in both seasons of Euphoria. Although Maddy's small diamonds can't quite match the "ice" of Kardashian, who surely didn't take Euphoria as inspiration, the reference of the two necklaces is the same and they are proof of how the baddie style is inextricably linked to hip-hop culture.