A TikTok creator and professional dancer, Corey O’Brien, has revealed how he recreated Kim Kardashian’s iconic outfit from this year’s Met Gala with a $12 dress from Forever 21.
At the 2022 Met Gala, Kardashian walked the red carpet in a bedazzled, beige dress, previously worn by Marilyn Monroe in 1962 when she sang to President John F Kennedy on his 45th birthday.
O’Brien discussed how he recreated Kardashian’s look during a recent interview with Page Six Style, acknowledging how “meticulous” he was when designing the gown.
“I saved a bunch of photos and videos of the outfit, scene by scene, and then went on the hunt,” he said. “With how beautiful the gown is and its history, I was extremely meticulous with everything.”
“No one can outdo Kim or the late Marilyn Monroe,” he added. “But I wanted to do something that paid homage to their beauty and their perseverance, wit, and timelessness, all while being true to myself and my followers.”
The TikToker shared that in order to make this creation possible, he used a $12 Forever 21 dress and put more than 350 rhinestones from Michael’s on it.
“You can make a quality look without a huge quantity of money,” he said.
He also shared that he used some low-priced products to create Kardashian’s accessories, including her white jacket and earrings.
“I superglued a strip of rhinestones together to create the earrings, and used paper towels as her white shawl,” he explained. “It took a while to get everything just right, but I’ve become quite a budget atelier.”
He posted two videos of the ensemble on his TikTok, where he also dressed up as Kardashian’s boyfriend, Pete Davidson, who attended the gala with her. In the clips, O’Brien reenacted some of the poses that Davidson and Kardashian did at the event.
In the comments, many TikTok users applauded O’Brien’s replica outfits.
“ON POINT,” one wrote, while another said: “The chemistry you have…with yourself is immaculate.”
One viewer wrote, “how did you get Marilyn’s dress??,” subtly referring to the red carpet moment where Kardashian revealed that she lost 16 pounds in order to fit in Monroe’s dress.
Since the Met Gala, the reality star has received some backlash for her comments, as she said that she had a no sugar and carbs diet three weeks and wore a sauna suit. More specifically, Lili Reinhart said that the Skims founder’s diet for the Met Gala was “so wrong” and “f***ed on 100s of levels”. However, Kardashian’s trainer, Don-A-Matrix, has since defended the model, noting how she maintained a “balanced” diet while putting “the work in” to lose weight.
Speaking to The Independent, O’Brien noted how he spent a lot of time designing the outfit. “It honestly took me 2 days to re-create but definitely hours supergluing the rhinestones to the dress,” he said.
Regarding what inspired him to create the outfit, he expressed how much he’s admired Monroe’s gown and how much fun he’s had doing outfit re-creations, along with dances, on social media.
“The inspiration behind the dress was how iconic this dress was and the history behind it,” he explained. “I enjoy doing re-creations and normally do dance performances, however I instantly knew I had to do this one and put my own take on it.”
