Kendall Jenner Talks Her Reading Habits, Gift List, and Hustler (the Magazine) Before Calvin Klein’s Pajama Party

Everyone wants to dress like Kendall Jenner, and last night, Calvin Klein made it easy.

The model played host to the brand’s holiday party, held at their New York headquarters, and appeared in a pair of buffalo check pajamas. CK had also distributed a similar pair to everyone in attendance (Jenner wore the pattern in a sports bra, though most guests wore a full pajama top).

She joined her friend Taco behind the DJ booth for most of the evening while influencers like Aquaria, Emma Chamberlain, and Rickey Thompson mingled amongst fans (many of these admirers stood in line for personally monogrammed underwear).

Before the festivities, we joined Jenner in a hotel room to chat about her holiday plans, receiving sentimental Hustler magazines, and the internet’s recent obsession with her literary tastes.

You’ve shared a lot of books you’ve been reading this year on social media, and people have taken notice. What was your favorite, and which book would make a good gift?

There’s a lot. I think it’s actually one of the best gifts. My friend-slash-agent gives me about ten books. That kind of gets me through the year, because I’m slow sometimes. I take breaks in between. She’ll get me her favorite, and she’ll label them all. They’re mostly short stories because I have a short attention span, so I love a good short story. So she’ll label them all, and leave me little notes, and say this one is my favorite and I think you should start here. I also really love self-help books and self-care books. I just started the Untethered Soul. Someone told me to read that one because I have pretty bad anxiety. I just finished the Four Agreements, which I really liked. So if anyone needs some good self-help books, I’m into those.

What do you make of people taking note of what you and other models have been reading this year?

It’s funny. I haven’t really always been into books. I won’t lie. I just got into them in the past eight months, six months. It’s a form of therapy for me in a way. It’s kind of nice to focus on and look at something that’s not your phone screen. So I got really into it, and I didn’t realize that people had noticed. When people see me reading certain books, it gets talked about. It’s a little community, almost. I have people who hit me up now like, ‘Oh my god, I have a book club and you should join.’

What’s your overall gift giving strategy?

You’re asking the wrong person. It’s like a thing in my family, everyone knows I’m the not the greatest one. I prefer the sentimental route. I love a good, thought-out sentimental gift. I think that’s why I appreciate the books that my agent gives me. You kind of obviously have to dig deep a little bit, and also just open your ears and listen a little bit. Sometimes it’s right in front of you, what they want. They talk about it all the time. You just kind of have to go back through your file of memories.

Kendall Jenner, Yung Taco

Zach Hilty/BFA.com

What’s one of the best gifts you’ve ever gotten?

Like I said, I’m a sentimental person. For my birthday, I think it was last year or the year before, my mom’s best friend, who I call a second mom, gets this massive box and fills it all with all the magazines, articles, newspapers, anything that was published on the exact day you were born. She fills it up with everything. I think it even goes down to… well, there’s a Hustler magazine, but it’s so cool to see what was happening on the day that you were born, right down to the news.

Tonight, there’s a dress code, but how do you deal with merging your personal style for a holiday party?

I’m a less is more type of person, so when it comes to beauty, I like to keep it pretty simple. The most I would do is like a red lip or a little glitter or something. I also like to have fun with it. My hair is a little puffier today. I have a little bump in the back for the holiday vibes.

Do you like home decorating for the Holidays?

Yeah, it’s the best. I just did my house. I have two Christmas trees, and all my fireplaces have garlands around them, and my wreaths and my lights are out. My house smells magical.

What’s your favorite holiday scent?

Definitely the Christmas tree scent. What is it? Pine.

Do you have any favorite Holiday party memories?

Every year since before I was born, my mom has thrown these massive Christmas Eve parties. So we’re doing that again this year. We have such good memories from those times. I remember growing up as a kid and it being so exciting. I couldn’t wait for the party to start, and to get into bed, and wake up in the morning and see Santa. My mom’s really good at that whole holiday thing.

Will you have any time to binge anything over the Holidays?

I just started See on Apple+. What’s his name?

Jason Momoa?

Yeah, Jason Momoa is in it. I just started, I’m on like episode 3, and I’ve been on episode 3 for like two weeks or a week and a half. Like I haven’t gotten through it. I’m ready to just sit down and finish it.

You’ve worked with Calvin Klein before, and you just did the 50th Anniversary campaign. How was it to work with a lot of diverse stars and a lot of notable people?

It’s really cool to continue to work with a brand, just because it becomes so comfortable, like a family experience. The casting at Calvin Klein is always amazing. It’s always a different set of people that perhaps you’ve never met before, or maybe you’ve looked up to, or, sometimes, they’re your friends.

Do you have any plans for New Year’s Eve yet?

Not really. All my friends have been texting me about it. I’m like, ‘I really have no idea, I’m just going with the flow.’ I just know I don’t want to be in LA. I’ve been in LA the past couple of years.

Do you have any New Year’s resolutions?

Overall positivity. We are surrounded by negativity in the world. So, putting out positive vibes and being more present.