How Chris Appleton created Kim Kardashian's floor-length ponytail

Um, did we mention it cost $10k?

BEAUTYcrew Beauty Editor / September 23 2021

When it comes to creating jaw-dropping red carpet hair looks for the Met Gala, there’s no better duo than Kim Kardashian and Chris Appleton. 

After Kardashian’s last Met Gala moment which paired wet look wavy hair with a latex corset dress designed by fashion icon Thierry Mugler, it’s fair to say we were almost expecting the business mogul to strut her stuff down the red carpet completely naked.

But as always, Kardashian and Appleton went for the unexpected, creating a look centralised around a floor-length ponytail: "We went for a 75" floor-length pony to complete the look,” said Appleton in a statement released by ColorWow. 

“Simple, and clean, but high shine with a luxe finish. Simple can still make a statement." The rest of the reality star remained a mystery, cloaked in a burqa in a nod to the American Muslim community and the theme of ‘American Independence’.

@chrisappleton1

@chrisappleton1

@chrisappleton1

As the Global Director of ColorWow, Appleton utilised a slew of the brand’s shine-inducing products to give Kim’s hair that enviably glossy finish. He initially prepped her hair with Color Wow Dream Coat Supernatural Spray ($57 at Adore Beauty) to achieve an all-over gloss finish, followed by a flexible hold hairspray through the roots and a boar bristle brush ($37 at Adore Beauty) to smooth her strands into a sleek ponytail.

evo Conrad Boar Bristle Paddle Brush

Color Wow Dream Coat Supernatural Spray

Appleton utilised floor-grazing extensions to achieve the jaw-dropping length on Kardashian’s ponytail and smoothed away frizz and flyaways with a slimline flat-iron – think something along the lines of the ghd Straightener Original Professional Styler ($179 at Oz Hair & Beauty) – before finishing the look with a light misting of Color Wow Extra Mist-ical Shine Spray ($56.75 at Oz Hair & Beauty).

Color Wow Extra Mist-ical Shine Spray

ghd Straightener Original Professional Styler

Considering her hair was the only visible part of the beauty look, it makes perfect sense that Kardashian was keen to invest in making sure it looked the best it possibly could, right? Well, let's just say it was a style she didn't mind splashing a bit of cash on.

Okay, fine, we'll say more; Appleton revealed via an Instagram Story Q&A that the 75 inch ponytail actually cost (deep breath now) a whopping $10,000. We're assuming that's in U.S. dollars, too, so for us Aussies, it would have gone for something closer to 13 grand.

What was it made of, unicorn hair?! Well, to be fair, it was so silky it could have passed for it...

@chrisappleton1

Keen to check out all the other looks from the evening? These are all the incredible beauty moments from the 2021 Met Gala.

Main image credit: Getty

Briar Clark got her start in the media industry in 2017, as an intern for Marie Claire and InStyle. Since then, her keen interest in fashion and beauty has landed her gigs as a Digital Content Producer and Beauty Editor with titles like Girlfriend, Refinery29, BEAUTYcrew and beautyheaven. She loves the way seemingly innocuous topics like skin care and style have the ability to put a smile on people’s faces or make them think about themselves a little differently. A big believer in self love and experimentation, Briar has made a point of becoming the Australian beauty industry’s unofficial guinea pig for unusual treatments and daring hair trends. When she’s not testing out the latest beauty launches, Briar is big on broadening her horizons, mostly in the form of food but she’s also partial to travelling to new destinations both near and far (and of course, allocating an extra bag to bring their best beauty offerings home with her).