Kim Kardashian’s 2022 Met Gala dress sparked controversies from how she got the dress to how she was able to fit in it.
The reality star wore Marilyn Monroe’s original dress by Jean Louis which she wore in 1962 when she serenaded President John F. Kennedy on his birthday. While others appreciated Kim for channeling her inner Marilyn, there are those who criticized her for wearing the legendary dress. Conservationists and costume historians talked about the potential damage it could cause because the dress is decades old.
Just recently, fashion designer Bob Mackie, who sketched the original gown while working as Jean Louis’ assistant, said, “I thought it was a big mistake. [Marilyn] was a goddess. A crazy goddess, but a goddess. She was just fabulous. Nobody photographs like that. And it was done for her. It was designed for her. Nobody else should be seen in that dress.”
Mackie also shared the concerns of historians about the damages to its preservation and structural integrity. He recalled he was just 23 when he made the sketch and didn’t even know what it was for except that it was for Marilyn.
As for Kim, she revealed to Vogue that she did everything she could to fit into the dress, specifically losing 16 pounds in three weeks. According to her, she “would wear a sauna suit twice a day, run on the treadmill, completely cut all sugar and all carbs, and just eat the cleanest veggies and protein.” However, the SKIMS founder made it clear that she didn’t starve herself but she was very strict to herself.
Kim walked the red carpet with her boyfriend Pete Davidson, after which she changed into a replica of the iconic dress to avoid damaging it.
She also wore another Marilyn Monroe dress at a Met Gala after-party. Based on her Instagram post on May 6, she discovered that Heritage Auctions has the Norman Norell green sequined dress that the actress wore when she received the 1962 Golden Globe for World Film Favorite.
She shared a photo of herself in the dress and captioned it, “It will forever be one of the greatest privileges of my life to be able to channel my inner Marilyn in this way, on such a special night.”
