Kim Kardashian seems to have destroyed Marilyn Monroe’s legendary gown after wearing it to the 2022 Met Gala.
Marilyn Monroe expert Scott Fortner shared before and after photos of the Jean Louis gown Monroe wore to serenade President John F. Kennedy on his birthday in 1962 on Instagram.
Kardashian wore the gown for a few minutes on the red carpet before switching into a copy that she wore for the remainder of the evening. Monroe’s gown is presently on exhibit at Hollywood’s Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Museum.
Chad Michael Morrisette, who runs Oh Mannequin! and helped organise the 2016 auction at which Ripley’s acquired the garment for $4.81 million, spoke about the outfit’s present state.
He remarked that the crystals appear to be missing from the delicate silk soufflé fabric. There seem to be many little rips around the zipper seam as well. Morrisette stated that he went to the show on June 12, 2022, and took photos and videos of the devastation.
He told the source he was engaged by Julien’s in 2016 to put the garment on exhibit, and not only the dress, but the entire auction. He has dealt with her relics more than anybody else on the planet. He got his hands on her driver’s licence. He has looked through her high school yearbook. When she travelled to Korea with Joe DiMaggio, he touched her ID card. Everything that’s ever been for sale has been touched by him, even that garment.
He went on to say that he recognised this clothing, and the damage is obvious. He was in tears when he exited Ripley’s. He raced out with his hand over his mouth, choking back sobs, since he couldn’t fathom the devastation they had let occur for a PR stunt.
Ripley’s took to Instagram in May to reveal the steps the business took to maintain the legendary outfit.
The account stated at the time, extreme care was taken to protect this piece of pop cultural history. The condition of the garment was prioritised with assistance from garment conservationists, appraisers, and archivists. No modifications were to be made to the gown, and Kim even switched into a copy after the red carpet!
Kardashian mirrored Ripley’s assertion, saying she was “respectful” of the gown during her red-carpet appearance with fiancé Pete Davidson.
Kardashian said at the time that she is really respectful of the clothing and what it represents in American history. She would never sit in it, dine in it, or risk damaging it in any way, and she will not be applying the type of body cosmetics she typically uses. Everything had to be timed perfectly, and she had to rehearse walking up the stairs.
Kardashian said on the red carpet that she had to reduce 16 pounds in three weeks to fit into Monroe’s gown after being unable to do it on her first try.
