When DuJour Media’s CEO and founder Jason Binn produced an exclusive photoshoot and interview with Kim Kardashian at photographer Bruce Weber’s home in Miami for DuJour’s spring 2013 cover, the reality star-turned-millionaire had been gearing up for a life-changing year. The recent debut of The Kardashians on Hulu inspired DuJour Media and Jason Binn to reflect back on Kardashian’s iconic cover shoot.
The Bruce Weber-lensed photo shoot was Kardashian’s first shoot post-pregnancy announcement. Kardashian and Kanye West had been dating for less than a year at the time and the pregnancy announcement was, as Kardashian told DuJour, a nice surprise, as was the pregnancy itself. Doctors had told her that, like her sister Khloé, she would have a difficult time conceiving. “I just feel so blessed and excited and ready for the next phase,” she said, noting that 2012 was not her best year, and she’s grateful it’s over. At the time, Kardashian said of West: “My boyfriend has taught me a lot about privacy. I’m ready to be a little less open about some things, like my relationships. I’m realizing everyone doesn’t need to know everything. I’m shifting my priorities.” Since then, Kardashian and West were married and welcomed four children. In early 2021, it was announced that Kardashian had filed for divorce from West and most recently, Kardashian revealed she was in a relationship with Pete Davidson.
To celebrate the 2013 cover, Jason Binn had hosted a special luncheon for Kardashian where the mom-to-be at the time gushed about the experience. “I’m just so honored he wanted to work with me and humbled by the experience,” she said of Weber. “He shot Elizabeth Taylor and I’m obsessed with her so I was just really honored and this shoot came out so amazing!”
Weber said it was Kim’s complexities that drew him to her, and that her similarities to Taylor inspired much of the story. “I didn’t know Kim loved Elizabeth Taylor before we met, but I imagined she would,” said Weber, who regarded Taylor as a close friend. “The great thing about Kim is that she’s so strong and independent, but she also makes you want to take care of her. Working with her made me really miss Elizabeth.”
Like Elizabeth Taylor, Kardashian is a hopeless romantic, and her willingness to love, fail and love again is relatable. “Kimberly believes in fairy tales,” her sister Khloé told DuJour. “It’s the best part about her.”
