The red carpet at the Rome Film Festival offered a moment where Hollywood history and contemporary celebrity culture intersected. On October 24, 2026, Kris Jenner arrived in Rome wearing a striking black velvet hooded cape lined in ivory silk, embroidered with glittering scorpions across the chest and hood. The garment connected directly to a famed social event from November 1969 and a celebrated screen star: Elizabeth Taylor.
The cape’s presence in Rome was more than a fashion statement; it reiterated the enduring appeal of archival pieces. At the premiere for season two of Ryan Murphy’s legal drama All’s Fair, Jenner posed alongside her daughter Kim Kardashian and co-stars Niecy Nash, Naomi Watts and Sarah Paulson, drawing attention to a single object that spans decades of celebrity pageantry.
The original 1969 Scorpio cape and its Monte Carlo moment
In November 1969, Princess Grace of Monaco staged a themed celebration to mark her 40th birthday and her zodiac sign. The soirée—known in fashion lore as the Scorpio Ball—featured guests who were, by design, linked to the star sign. Elizabeth Taylor attended the party with her husband Richard Burton; though Taylor herself was not a Scorpio, she wore a theatrical black velvet cape with diamanté scorpion motifs and a contrasting ivory lining that suited the evening’s motif.
The garment was crafted by the Roman atelier Tiziani, a house whose workshops included notable designers working as freelancers in the late 1960s. The cape’s authorship has been the subject of conversation because a young Karl Lagerfeld was collaborating for Tiziani at that time, creating a provenance detail that has fueled its mystique and desirability among collectors and fashion historians.
From auction rooms to Rome red carpet: provenance and price
The cape resurfaced publicly in the 2010s when it became part of the dispersal of Elizabeth Taylor’s wardrobe. Records indicate the garment was sold at auction in 2011 for $60,000, a final price far above early estimates of $2,000–$3,000. That sale figure and the garment’s celebrity associations contributed to its status as a coveted archival object.
Whether the exact cape shown in Rome is the identical piece that passed through that auction or a faithful recreation is clarified by family accounts: the cape now belongs to Jenner, and Kim Kardashian has confirmed that she has worn it on screen. Jenner, who shares Taylor’s affinity for dramatic vintage statements and who is herself a Scorpio by birth, has used the garment in both public appearances and as a lending piece for costume work in the television series tied to the Rome premiere.
Kim Kardashian, All’s Fair, and the continued archive fascination
The Rome premiere also underscored a pattern: Kim Kardashian has repeatedly engaged with historically significant garments for high-profile moments. In the context of the show All’s Fair, Kardashian’s character is seen wearing a cape evocative of the 1969 piece, and the production included the original cape on set after Jenner lent it for filming. The family’s interest in celebrity wardrobes extends beyond this single item; other notable examples include Kardashian’s 2022 Met Gala appearance wearing a dress famously associated with Marilyn Monroe.
At the Rome screening, Kardashian opted for a vintage Yves Saint Laurent leopard-print haute couture gown, reinforcing the evening’s dialogue between archive couture and contemporary styling. The mother-daughter visual—Jenner’s hooded velvet and Kardashian’s leopard drape—created a deliberate echo of the Monte Carlo imagery, translating a historic costume theme into a modern red-carpet tableau.
Why this garment matters now
The cape’s reappearance in 2026 demonstrates how single items from the past continue to circulate meaningfully among collectors, studios and celebrities. This particular object links a 1969 royal celebration in Monaco to a Rome Film Festival screening decades later, weaving together names like Elizabeth Taylor, Princess Grace, and contemporary figures such as Kris Jenner and Kim Kardashian. Its documented auction history and the possibility of a high-profile designer association add layers to its cultural value.
More broadly, the episode highlights the cultural pull of archival fashion as a form of storytelling: a single cape carries connotations of Hollywood glamour, royal spectacle, and ongoing celebrity branding. In public appearances and in costume for television, the cape performs as both garment and artifact, bridging eras while remaining immediately photogenic on a Rome red carpet.
