Kendall Jenner Thinks Some Things Are Better Naked

According to Kendall Jenner, some things are better naked. Buttered pasta, for one.

It’s not exactly the answer I expected when I posed the question to the model during our recent Zoom conversation, but it makes perfect sense in the context of her latest project. Jenner is gearing up to launch “Nothing Extra,” a new campaign for her tequila brand, 818, built around the idea that sometimes, less really is more.

And the visuals certainly back up this sentiment. Filmed at Flamingo Estate, they have all the makings of a countryside daydream: lush greenery, baskets brimming with fruit, and Jenner wandering through the garden in a breezy dress. That romantic, almost storybook-like setting, she tells me, was no accident. Jenner says the original concept leaned more heavily into humor and sex appeal, but she ultimately wanted something softer.

“I wanted it to feel a little bit more based in nature, rather than too sexy by any means,” she explains.

But tequila and pasta are only the beginning. Below, Jenner discusses what she’s learned about feeling comfortable in her own skin, her love of maximalist interiors, and the family member she trusts most to make her a cocktail.

This is 818’s biggest campaign to date, and the “Practically Naked” concept is pretty cheeky. What was your initial reaction to the idea, and how involved were you in bringing it to life?

We actually went through a few different ideas. Considering the message we are trying to convey with the tequila being nothing added, nothing extra, it’s just naked. When that idea came through, I loved the kitschiness of it, considering the tequila is technically naked. So we loved it. We had a few other ideas, but for some reason, we always kept coming back to this one. I think it’s a fun way to bring people in, but also a fun way to tell the story of the tequila.

I wanted to keep the focus on the tequila because I built this business to focus on the product and to make a great product while also being able to have fun with it. I think there’s always a fine line for me of a little too much or a little too sexy. Within the right circumstances, it’s so fun to go there. But for this, I’ve always wanted the brand to be taken seriously, and I felt like this was a fun way to be able to do both.

The campaign has a romantic, almost fairy-tale-like setting, but with a playful sense of humor. What inspired that creative direction?

We actually had a lot more humor originally. I kind of sat with it for a while and came back to the team and felt like too much comedy and too much naked might not work. I wanted to take the humor down a little bit. So when rethinking it, I kind of came up with this little bit more whimsical, little bit more airy, fresh feeling. Considering we are talking about something that’s crafted with just three ingredients and there’s nothing extra, I wanted it to feel a little bit more based in nature, rather than too sexy by any means. I really liked the idea of being in nature and being somewhere as beautiful as Flamingo Estate and being within the trees and amongst the plants and with the fruits and the vegetables. Tequila is alcohol, at the end of the day, but we wanted to just have a little bit fresher of a feeling considering it is fresh.

Did you have any specific visual references or mood boards in mind, or was the concept something you imagined from scratch?

It was ultimately originally imagined. That’s kind of why we settled on Flamingo Estate, because it was part of the references, their landscape and all those things. I feel like our team did a really good job of taking my thoughts and bringing them into reality, which was really nice.

Having spent so much of your career in front of the camera, when do you feel most comfortable in your own skin?

Obviously, I think environment plays into that, but it’s a lot of self-work. Not to go there and be all mental health-y, but it really is so much self-work through experiences and through reminding myself of the things that I’m comfortable with. I love setting boundaries, and I love holding myself to them. I feel best when I’m in a great environment with great people, but then also when I feel like my mind is ultimately right. I’m sure this goes for everyone, but I think I’ve really found my own little remedies and ways to get myself there.

You’ve been building 818 for five years now. What’s something about running a business that still surprises you?

I know people say it all the time, but you’re really nothing without a great team, and I feel that so greatly here. I still am surprised by my team every single day, but I’m also really inspired by how small we’ve remained with how much we’ve built. I’ve loved that process as well. I feel like it’s a little family, and I love that I can text every single person on the team, or get on a Zoom with them once a week and feel like we have this level of communication where we get so much done with just our great little crew. It’s been really cool to build this from the ground up with essentially the same team since day one and to be here now five years later and be able to all feel it together.

You recently celebrated your 31st birthday. What’s one way you feel you’ve grown or changed the most over the past year?

Oh, my God, I feel like a lot. A lot has changed. I’d say the biggest thing for me [is] the way I handle myself within stressful situations, or bad situations, or good situations. I think I’ve really grown into myself in that way. I’ve always been someone who’s really remained true to myself. Even as a kid, I never gave in to peer pressure. I’ve always kind of had my own little path. And the ways I’ve been able to stick to that and remain honest with myself, while also being open to learning and open to changing and for the better, if you will, my journey with life and always hoping to keep my mind right, I think has only taught me so much about myself. Learning me as well has been really fun and exciting.

Who in your family makes the best cocktails? And what’s your go-to cocktail to make with 818?

My mom, for sure. She’s the most fun and has a great time when it comes to alcohol, and she’s just really good at making a good cocktail. She has a great bar at her house. We do these little series on YouTube where we’ll take a classic cocktail and we’ll make it an 818 way, so we’ll change the alcohol out. Instead of whiskey, for example, we’ll make it tequila. We’ve made really good Tequila Old Fashioneds and things like that.

The campaign plays on the idea that less is more. Is that a philosophy you embrace in other areas of your life? And where do you think more is always more?

I live by less is more. Within my style, I always live by that. I think doing too much can get tricky for me. But to answer your question and maybe contradict myself, where more is more is sometimes in my homes. I love a house that feels lived in and full of things that you’ve collected over time. I love special collectibles. I love found things. I love knickknacks. So I think that more is more there. I stand by it there, for sure. I featured my mountain house in Architectural Digest, and that was definitely a situation where I was like, more is more. But then when thinking of a home probably in California, I’d think, okay, less is more here. So it really just depends, I guess, situation by situation.

What do you think is always better naked? Besides tequila, of course.

Something that’s better naked? Oh, my God, I’m trying to think…who doesn’t love a buttered pasta? [It’s] the simplest of pastas. I’m about to make myself that right now, actually.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.