Kim Kardsahian with date, Pete Davidson literally and figuratively shut down the carpet at last night’s Met Gala.
Perfectly timed as the last to arrive, Kim appeared wearing a dress worn by Marilyn Monroe. Kim told Vogue,
What’s the most American thing you can think of? And that’s Marilyn Monroe.
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.”
Based on a sketch by Bob Mackie for the Hollywood costume designer Jean-Louis, the dress caused a stir when the actress wore it to serenade President John F. Kennedy on his 45th birthday in 1962. (Those in attendance literally gasped when she took off her mink stole.)
Fresh out of college and just 21 at the time, Mackie remembers the moment,
After the day the sketch was drawn, I had no idea what it was for until photos of the event appeared in the newspaper. Marilyn looked amazing and accomplished exactly what she intended to. Fox Studios would not let her wear anything too revealing in films, because of the previous nude calendar scandal. And she didn’t really care, because she had already been fired.
Her figure was at its peak, the dress was a classic shape of fashion at the time.”
This dress has a history…
- Monroe paid Jean-Louis $1,440 for the custom piece (equivalent to $15,000+ today)
- It was first sold at auction in 1999 at Christie’s for over a million dollars as part of a sale of Marilyn’s estate
- It then sold again for $4.8 million at Julien’s Auctions in 2016
- The dress was later acquired by Ripley’s Believe It Or Not Museum
- It still holds the record for being the most expensive dress sold at auction
- It’s stored in a darkened vault that’s temperature controlled at 68 degrees & 40-50% humidity
- The dress had never been worn by anyone other than Marilyn –until now
Kims says,
I’m a big fan of auctions and I own several JFK pieces so I know the owner of Julien’s. He was able to connect me [with Ripley’s] and that’s how the conversation started.”
The dress was transported by guards and I had to wear gloves to try it on…
I always thought she was extremely curvy. I imagined I might be smaller in some places where she was bigger and bigger in places where she was smaller. So when it didn’t fit me I wanted to cry because it can’t be altered at all.”
With only a few months to go before the gala it was slim down to fit into the dress or find something else to wear.
It was this or nothing
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. I didn’t starve myself, but I was so strict.”
A month later, she was inside the Ripley’s vaults in Orlando for the final fitting.
It fit like a glove.
Vogue gives the details,
The truth is Kardashian only actually wore the original dress for a matter of minutes. Given the fragile nature and historical value of the dress, she wasn’t about to take any chances. In fact, her whole process of getting dressed reads like a highly sophisticated military operation.
First, she left her hotel in a dressing gown with barricades set up outside to obscure the view of any waiting paparazzi. She then arrived at a small fitting room by the Met Gala steps that was especially organized for the occasion. There a conservationist from Ripley’s was on hand to assist her in white gloves.
Kim says,
I’m extremely respectful to the dress and what it means to American history. I would never want to sit in it or eat in it or have any risk of any damage to it and I won’t be wearing the kind of body makeup I usually do.
Everything had to be specifically timed and I had to practice walking up the stairs.”
Kim changed into a replica of the dress also owned by Ripley’s once she successfully climbed the stairs. And as they say, the rest is herstory.
(Photo, screen grabs, streaming; via Vogue)
