The Kardashian Sisters' Passion For Fashion Came From Their Grandma MJ
In the years they've been in the spotlight, the Kardashian family has shared every high and low with the public. Hearts broke across the fandom in July 2026, when the family announced the death of Kris Jenner's mother, MJ Shannon. MJ was a grandmother to Kourtney, Kim, Khloé, and Rob Kardashian, and Kendall and Kylie Jenner. Through the family's heartfelt social media tributes to MJ, it's clear that she had a profound effect on all their lives, but a resurfaced interview has revealed that MJ had an especially pivotal role in shaping the famous sisters' love for fashion.
Speaking to The Daily Beast in 2012, MJ revealed that her granddaughters spent time at the San Diego store she founded in 1980, Shannon & Co. "They grew up playing in the store," she told the outlet. "I recall Kim sitting on this very floor and counting money. She would sing, 'Counting is the game, and money is my name,' or 'Money is my name and counting is the game.'" You could argue that being exposed to fashion at such a young age influenced the sisters not just to foster their own love for it, but to also embrace the idea of mixing fashion and business.
By 2012, MJ was a bona fide businesswoman, having had five stores to her name. She had also worked as a model after growing up in Arkansas, and attended a charm school called Fashionality when she was just 15. Notably, the Kardashian sisters opened a clothing store called Dash in Calabasas, California in 2006, just before their reality TV careers took off. They've come a long way, and these days, Kim Kardashian's style secrets will even change the way you get dressed, but there's no doubt MJ paved the way for these career beginnings.
MJ had her own sense of style
Each KarJenner sister has her own unique sense of fashion, from Kim Kardashian's post-divorce style transformation to Kourtney Kardashian's grungy rotations. Looking back at photos of their grandma MJ Shannon, it's clear that the family matriarch had her own distinct fashion sense, which likely influenced her descendants to explore their own style sweet spots.
The major element of MJ's style that stands out is her love of simple accessories that make a statement. In Kim's Instagram tribute to MJ, the businesswoman can be seen boldly accessorizing in almost every photo. The first photo shows MJ with bright-red lace-up shoes paired with a black-and-white outfit, while in a later pic, she wears a patterned red hat, scarf, and face mask. Meanwhile, in a photo shared to Khloé Kardashian's Instagram, which dates back to the '90s, MJ can be seen wearing a maximalist gold belt cinching a tunic-style dress. It seems that loud colors were MJ's favorite, since the Daily Beast interview described her as wearing red pants and a blue-and-white striped sweater for the Fourth of July, along with a Gucci belt and Ralph Lauren sneakers. She was also known to go classic with crimson lips and nails, as seen on social media.
Shannon & Co was described in the article as being heavy on the leopard-print motifs, and we also spotted MJ in animal-print scarves over the years. It's hard to imagine now when you look at Kim's chic neutral closet, but leopard in particular was a key part of the Kardashian aesthetic during their early years in the spotlight. While their look has majorly evolved over the years, MJ gave us the beginnings of the Kardashian love affair with fashion, and she'll live on in their bold style choices forevermore.