Fans have been anticipating yet another iconic look from Kim Kardashian at the Met Gala and they were not disappointed. This year’s theme is a continuation of last year’s theme, ‘In America: A Lexicon of Fashion’. Part two is titled ‘In America: An Anthology of Fashion.’ Andrew Bolton, the curator of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute, said, “Part Two, which explores the foundations of American fashion in relation to the complex histories of the American Wing period rooms, serves as a preface to the concise dictionary of American fashion presented in Part One.” RELATED: 8 Times The Kardashians Had A Major Feud With Former Friends – From Larsa Pippen To Taylor Swift Hence, fans have suspected Kardashian might pay homage to one famous figure in fashion history — Marilyn Monroe. And they were right.
Kim Kardashian did wear Marilyn Monroe’s dress to the Met Gala
Kardashian was last to walk the red carpet and wowed fans as she made her way up the Met steps in Monroe’s famous dress — but that’s about as far as she got. Vogue reported that, due to the fragile nature of the dress, Kardashian didn’t put it on until she was at the bottom of the Met Gala steps, in a secret fitting room. Kardashian left her hotel in a dressing gown and was hidden from the paparazzi as she made her way to the museum. Then, after posing with Pete Davidson on the red carpet, she changed into a replica of the dress for the rest of the evening so as not to sit or eat in the historic garment.
Fans had predicted Kim Kardashian would wear Marilyn Monroe’s dress.
Rumors started when a fan on Twitter who claimed to know “an inside source” tweeted to say that Kardashian is planning to wear the look Monroe wore when she sang “Happy Birthday” to John F. Kennedy in 1962. The Twitter user added that the dress does not fit so Kardashian will be trying to get into shape in order to pull it off.
Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson’s recent Orlando trip was linked to her Met Gala look.
Kardashian and Davidson were spotted at the tourist hotspot “Ripley’s Believe It Or Not!” along with her hair stylist Chris Appleton while in Florida. — (@GiselleMuniz2) April 5, 2022 Monroe’s iconic dress is owned by the museum but is typically held at their Hollywood Boulevard location in California. While it seems it may not make sense that Kardashian would be going to Orlando for a fitting, Ripley’s corporate office is located at the Orlando location and any major decision makers would be in Florida. The dress may also have been moved. — internet baby (@kirkpate) April 26, 2022
Kim Kardashian hinted that her 2022 Met Gala dress cannot be tailored.
While walking the red carpet at the premiere for her new Hulu reality show, Kardashian revealed that she would have to wait until the last minute to see if she would be attending the Met Gala. RELATED: Leaked Emails Reveal Kylie Jenner & Khloe Kardashian’s Pleas To Get ‘Rob & Chyna’ Canceled “It really depends if I fit into my dress, so I hope I’m going,” she said to Access Hollywood. “I think it will be up to the last minute because it can’t be tailored, so I have to fit into it like, exactly.” This added fuel to the rumors that Kardashian will wear the important artefact.
Marilyn Monroe wore the iconic skintight dress at JFK’s birthday celebration in 1962.
Monroe fashioned a skintight, skin-colored dress at JFK’s birthday celebration which was also a fundraising event. The dress was custom-made for Monroe by the French fashion designer Jean Louis. It was inspired by a sketch made by the American fashion designer Bob Mackie when he worked for Louis. The skin-colored dress had 2,500 crystals on it and was quite tight. Monroe couldn’t wear anything underneath it and she had to be sewn into it just moments before her performance. RELATED: Fans Think Kourtney Kardashian’s Son Exposed What Kylie Jenner Named Her Baby On A Secret Instagram Account She bought the dress for $1,440 back then which is valued at much more today. — British Vogue (@BritishVogue) November 18, 2016 The dress was sold at around $1 million at an auction in 1999 and again in 2016 for $4.8 million. That broke the record for a dress being sold at that price at an auction. At the auction in 2016, the dress was bought by Ripley’s Believe It Or Not Museum where it stands today.
Parallels can be drawn between Kim Kardashian and Marilyn Monroe.
Both women are icons of their era. They’re known as sex symbols and often faced controversy but, behind all the glamour, they’re each complex women whose success is often undermined. At last year’s Met Gala, we saw Kardashian probe her own iconography and status as a sex symbol by wearing a Balenciaga tight-fitting gown that covered her entire face. The dress proved that Kardashian only needed her silhouette to be recognizable. By wearing Monroe’s dress, she once again probes what it means to be recognized for your body. This isn’t the first time Kardashian has probed her similarities to Monroe. Kardashian channeled Monroe on the cover of Vogue Brasil back in 2017. This was four years after Kanye West first made the comparison in a 2013 interview. West pointed out that both Monroe and Kardashian are controversial. Many forget that though history has deemed her a classical icon, Monroe was frequently shamed and degraded for her sexuality. Kardashian may be heading down the same route. RELATED: Kim Kardashian Fans Spot ‘Clues’ That She & Pete Davidson Are Secretly Engaged Sanika Nalgirkar, M.F.A. is a writer who covers entertainment & news, lifestyle, and pop culture topics.
