Met Gala might have ended months ago, but the controversy surrounding it continues to create the buzz. Ever since Kim Kardashian climbed up the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art on the first Monday of May 2022 in an ICONIC and historically preserved Marilyn Monroe dress, she caused ripples in the fashion fraternity, both good and bad. Yes, the beauty moghul has landed in troubled waters for wearing the bedazzling Jean Louis gown yet again.
Kim’s Met Gala stunt might have caused irreversible damage to Marilyn’s 60-year-old iconic gown that she wore in 1962 to sing ‘Happy Birthday Mr. President’ to John. F. Kennedy.
‘The Marilyn Monroe Collection,’ an Instagram page dedicated to the private collection of Marilyn’s personal property, reported that the reality TV star might have caused damage to the original piece. Collector Scott Fortner of ‘The Marilyn Monroe Collection,’ shared the images of the damage that occurred to the dazzling beaded Jean Louis gown post worn by the beauty moghul. From the photos circulating online, it’s quite visible that the fabric has been stressed at the seam of the zip line and a few crystals have either gone missing or are being hung by the thread.
Many fashion historians were in fact, against the idea of Kim wearing the iconic dress given the fabric of the gown was 60 years old and fragile. Designer Bob Mackie, who sketched the original dress expressed his disappointment with Ripley’s Museum’s decision of loaning it. “It was designed for (Marilyn Monroe). Nobody else should be seen in that dress,” he told Entertainment Weekly back in May. The reality TV star also received flak for going on a crash diet of 3 weeks to lose 16 pounds only to fit into the dress, which in fact wasn’t even zipped up on her hips.
Curated by Jean Louis and originally sketched by Bob Mackie, this haute couture gown was sold at an auction in 1999 for $1.26 million USD, then again in 2016 for a whopping $ 4.6 million USD. Ever since, this iconic creation has been on display at Ripley’s Believe It or Not museum in Orlando, making it one of the most expensive dresses ever sold.
Putting an iconic piece worn by an equally iconic personality at stake for an appearance of mere minutes…are we going a bit too far in the name of fashion?
(Source- Diet Prada, The Marilyn Monroe Collection)
