The Marilyn Monroe Collection Instagram account posted new photos on Monday (13) of the before and after of the iconic dress worn by socialite and businesswoman Kim Kardashian, 41, at the Met Gala, which took place in early May. The images show signs of the stretched fabric and lack of crystals around the closure on the back of the garment.
Kardashian revealed at the time that she lost 16 pounds before the event to squeeze into the historic dress that Marilyn wore to sing “Happy Birthday, Mr. President” in the United States in 1962. On the day of the prom, she needed help from her boyfriend Pete. Davidson because she had trouble walking in her tight dress.
A representative of Ripley’s! The Believe It Or Not Museum — which lent the dress to Kardashian and is currently displaying the piece at its Hollywood location — did not respond to Page Six’s request for comment.
“Kim should never have worn that dress to begin with. I mean, yes, it’s nice to pay tribute to Marilyn, but she could have had a new dress made and replicated. This was a timeless, iconic artifact that was ruined,” one person commented on the Twitter. “Leave it to Kim to destroy a historic work of art,” commented another Twitter user.
“Congratulations to the Met Gala for presenting a real-life example of why a department of conservation like the Costume Institute is necessary for historically significant clothing,” said another netizen.
Even before criticism from netizens, stylist Bob Mackie, 82, who designed Marilyn Monroe’s iconic dress, disapproved of Kardashian’s choice to wear it at the Met Gala. Mackie made the criticism in an interview with Entertainment Weekly.
“I thought it was a big mistake,” he said. “[Marilyn] was a goddess. A mad goddess, but a goddess. She was just fabulous. Nobody shoots like that. And it was made for her. It was designed for her. No one else should be seen in this dress,” she added.
Mackie designed the dress design in 1962 for Jean Louis, who was responsible for making the garment Monroe used to serenade then-President John Kennedy on his 45th birthday. The singer died less than three months later.
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