Kim Kardashian has appeared on the 2022 Met Gala red carpet wearing a crystal-embellished gown last worn by Marilyn Monroe six decades ago when she serenaded the US president John F Kennedy for his birthday.
The Met Gala, known for its high-profile guest list and extravagant ensembles, marks the opening of the annual fashion exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute.
This year’s exhibition, In America: An Anthology of Fashion, inspired the gala theme of “gilded glamor”.
Kardashian’s interpretation of the theme came from “the most American thing you can think of”.
“And that’s Marilyn Monroe,” she told Vogue. “For me, the most Marilyn Monroe moment is when she sang Happy Birthday to JFK, it was that look.”
Kardashian’s transformation into Monroe for the Met Gala carpet took more than sporting the Bob Mackie dress. “I did want a physical change too,” she told Vogue.
As well as bleaching her hair platinum blond, Kardashian said she lost 16 pounds (7kg) in less than a month to fit into the dress.
“It was such a challenge,” she said. “It was like a role. I was determined to fit this. I would wear a sauna suit twice a day, run on the treadmill, completely cut out all sugar and all carbs, and just eat the cleanest veggies and protein.”
Acquiring the dress was a challenge, too. The piece sold in 2016 for $US4.8m and holds the record for the most expensive dress sold at auction, as reported by Vogue.
Now usually stored in a temperature-controlled vault at Ripley’s Believe It Or Not Museum in Orlando, Florida, the gown was transported to Kardashian’s home in Calabasas, California by private plane and accompanied by guards.
She stepped on to the red carpet in the multimillion dollar-gown topped by a white fur shawl. With her newly bleached hair slicked into a bun, she posed beside her partner, Pete Davidson. The comedian wore a black suit and sunglasses.
When worn by Monroe in 1962, the dress – designed by Jean Louis based on a sketch by Bob Mackie – caused a stir.
“Nowadays everyone wears sheer dresses, but back then that was not the case,” Kardashian told Vogue. “In a sense, it’s the original naked dress. That’s why it was so shocking.”
The Monroe look joins Kardashian’s lineup of Met Gala ensembles that have captured attention – including her 2019 “wet” Thierry Mugler dress dripping in crystals and last year’s head-to-toe black Balenciaga bodysuit.
