What Does Kanye West’s Laura Dern Obsession Mean?

It’s been quite the summer. We’ve had pun-making presidents attempting to free rappers from international incarceration, we’ve witnessed obscenely extravagant birthday gestures to ring in Leo season, but most importantly, this is the summer we saw Laura Dern as Renata Klein, the woman who taught us that we shouldn’t settle for being “not, not rich.”

Any Big Little Lies superfan worth their salt loves them some Laura Dern, but surprisingly, so does the A-List. While Vogue reported on Kimye’s date night outfit this week—snakeskin, heeled thongs, you know the drill—there was only a very small mention of Kanye West’s choice in attire: a t-shirt that starred a young Laura Dern as her character Sandy Williams in Blue Velvet. 

If we really are in the grips of a Laura Dern Renaissance, is Kanye prolonging her rule or have we reached the point where the Kardashian cohort no longer usher trends but instead signify their presence and impending departure? Or perhaps, there is a deeper meaning altogether, a link between Kanye West and acting icon Laura Dern none of us ever saw coming, such as:

1. A song dedicated to Dern 
2. A new line of Dern-inspired merch
3. A scandalous affair with Dern 

4. A plea to David Lynch to cast Kanye in a film with Dern

5. A public proclamation that  “Hot Dern Summer” must live on

6. A shirt that Kanye’s 22-year-old stylists declared, “Cool.”