Kim Kardashian arrived at the Met Gala 2022 red carpet in full Marilyn Monroe mode on Monday, sporting freshly dyed blond hair and an iconic dress once worn by the Hollywood bombshell.
Kim Kardashian sparkled up the Met steps in the exact Jean Louis gown Monroe wore to sing “Happy Birthday, Mr President” to John F. Kennedy at Madison Square Garden on his 45th birthday in 1962.
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The crystal-studded creation, dubbed the “world’s most expensive dress,” set a Guinness World Record when Ripley’s Believe It or Not! purchased it at auction for a whopping $4.8 million (over $5 million including auction fees).
“The idea really came to me after the gala in September last year. I thought to myself, what would I have done for the American theme if it had not been the Balenciaga look? What’s the most American thing you can think of? And that’s Marilyn Monroe,” Kardashian told Vogue.
“For me the most Marilyn Monroe moment is when she sang ‘Happy Birthday,’ to JFK, it was that look. Nowadays everyone wears sheer dresses, but back then that was not the case … In a sense, it’s the original naked dress. That’s why it was so shocking,” she added.
Last month, the fashion mogul and boyfriend Pete Davidson paid a visit to the Ripley’s Believe It or Not! headquarters in Orlando, Florida, where they reportedly spent three hours.
Fans speculated that Kardashian might choose the unforgettable design for the “In America: An Anthology of Fashion”-themed Met Gala.
Furthermore, Kardashian told “Access Hollywood” in early April that her attendance at the gala was contingent on her being able to fit into her gown.
“I think it will be up to the last minute because it can’t be tailored, so I have to fit into it exactly. So we will see if I can shape-shift for the night,” she teased of her look.
It’s understandable that Ripley’s would refuse to alter Monroe’s gown, even for one of the world’s most famous women. The skintight dress, adorned with 2,500 sparkling stones, was custom-made for the “How to Marry a Millionaire” actress, who was sewn into it before taking the stage for JFK’s birthday serenade.
Kim Kardashian, on the other hand, is known for her serious commitment to Met Gala fashion, having attended the event in 2021 in a fully-masked Balenciaga ensemble and in 2019 in a tightly corseted Thierry Mugler gown.
She previously channelled Monroe for Vogue Brazil in 2015, and her estranged husband, Kanye West, has made comparisons between the two stars.
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“Kim is Marilyn Monroe. You know that. She was controversial. She [is] controversial,” Kanye West said during a 2013 radio interview.
The same year, former French Vogue editor Carine Roitfeld dropped a similar statement, telling Time Out, “She’s controversial, but so was Marilyn Monroe, and I always like controversial people.”
