Marilyn Monroe

Kim Kardashian changed into a replica minutes after wearing Marilyn Monroe's famous "Happy birthday Mr. President" dress to the 2022 Met Gala.

Monroe’s dress is so fragile, it’s stored in a dark, temperature-controlled vault set to 68 degrees and 40-50 percent humidity, and Kardashian is the first person to wear it since the famed Hollywood actress debuted the gown back in 1962. “I’m extremely respectful to the dress and what it means to American history,” Kardashian told Vogue ahead of the Met Gala. “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.” Once she reached the top of the Met steps, the reality star changed into a replica of the priceless Jean Louis gown — along with a little assistance from a white-gloved assistant from Ripley’s Believe It Or Not!, who loaned her the look.

Kim Kardashian reveals just how much weight she had to lose ahead of the Met Gala in order to fit into that Marilyn Monroe dress.

Later in the post, she expressed gratitude for the opportunity to wear it: In an Instagram post, the Kardashians star spoke further about getting to wear Marilyn Monroe’s dress, which is adorned with over 6,000 hand-sewn crystals. The Bob Mackie dress was originally worn by Marilyn Monroe (whose set to be the topic of an NC-17 rated biopic) in 1962, when she sang “Happy Birthday Mr. President” to John F. Kennedy. It was Kim Kardashian’s own idea that she would wear it to the Metropolitan Museum of Art's major event this year.

Sixty years after Marilyn Monroe sang “Happy Birthday, Mr. President” for John F. Kennedy at Madison Square Garden, her iconic nude dress has been put back ...

I had this idea to put it on and try it on,” Kardashian said on the red carpet of the Met. Though the “Happy Birthday” performance in 1962 sparked rumors of an affair between Monroe and President Kennedy, the dress itself was the true scandal. Kim Kardashian admitted she went on a diet to lose 16 pounds in three weeks in order to fit into the dress for the Met Gala. I thought to myself, what would I have done for the American theme if it had not been the Balenciaga look? Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Museum in Florida bought the dress at a Julien’s Auctions event in 2016 for $4.8 million. The unlined gown made it impossible for Monroe to wear undergarments.

Ripley's Believe It Or Not! shared video of Kim Kardashian's final fitting into the Marilyn Monroe "Happy Birthday" dress ahead of the 2022 Met Gala.

"I’m extremely respectful to the dress and what it means to American history," she told the magazine ahead of the gala. That said, the dress Kardashian wore wasn't on her for very long. Once inside, she says, "I'm just so grateful for the opportunity."

Just a couple of weeks ago, rumours swirled that Kim Kardashian's look for this year's Met Gala would be pulled from the vintage closet of the late Marilyn ...

She claims to have lot 16 pounds (7,2kg) in just three weeks to fit into the figure-hugging ensemble, as it couldn’t be tailored. I imagined I might be smaller in some places where she was bigger and bigger in places where she was smaller. The dress was ahead of its time, Kim (41) told Vogue in an interview published before she appeared on the red carpet. "It really depends if I fit into my dress, so I hope I'm going," she said, trying to throw fans off. “I always thought she [Marilyn] was extremely curvy. “I don't care how uncomfortable, I don't care how long, if I have to wear a diaper and not go to the bathroom . . . I don't care what I have to do,” she said.

Conservators, curators and fashion historians are baffled by Kim Kardashian's decision to wear Marilyn Monroe's iconic 'Happy Birthday, Mr. President' gown ...

“The Met Gala is now part of the garment’s history — and it didn’t need to be,” she says. “No damage occurred at last night’s event,” Corcoran said in a statement, adding that Kardashian “has become a steward—and added to—its history.” After taking photos in the dress, Kardashian then changed into a replica dress for the gala itself, Ripley’s said, noting that “great care was taken to preserve this piece of history.” “She’ll be donating to two Florida-based organizations — a goodwill gesture in appreciation of us allowing her to wear the dress,” Joiner adds in an interview. In order to maintain the fabric’s integrity, the dress will not be washed. On Wednesday, the dress will return to the Ripley’s Vault in Orlando, Corcoran notes. “Putting it on a human body will damage it no matter how careful you are,” she says. It’s part of a privately owned, for-profit “attractions company,” as it refers to itself, with themed locations around the world. Ripley’s Believe It or Not! in Orlando loaned the gown — believed to now be valued at over $10 million — to Kardashian after acquiring it in 2016 for nearly $5 million. And that’s Marilyn Monroe,” Kardashian, 41, told Vogue. “For me the most Marilyn Monroe moment is when she sang ‘Happy Birthday,’ to JFK, it was that look.” “The idea really came to me after the gala in September last year. “Obviously, if you have a Charles James hanging in your grandmother’s closet and you want to wear it, fine.

Marilyn Monroe's estate gives a seal of approval over Kim Kardashian wearing the iconic dress to the Met Gala.

The reason this is significant ... a handful of so-called Marilyn experts -- including folks who've written books and produced documentaries about her -- have chirped up en masse about Kim going full Marilyn ... saying she wasn't worthy, and that her doing so was a slap in the face to MM's memory. Even if she had gone to them for a blessing, we're told the company would've easily given it to her -- as the amount of shout-outs they're getting now in the wake of the Gala is overwhelmingly positive, and it's created a ton of new exposure to folks who might not know or remember Marilyn. As for Kim being the one to don the dress again ... Woodhouse says there's no better person for it, as he sees a lot of similarities between Marilyn and Kim -- namely, the fact they're strong, powerful and independent entrepreneurs who love being in front of the camera. Now, if you're wondering whether Kim ran this by the estate ... the answer is no, but it doesn't sound like she had to ... as the dress technically belongs to the Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum -- but it's all good ... because ABG says she went through the proper channels. Kim Kardashian wearing Marilyn Monroe's iconic dress would probably be A-OK in the late icon's book -- so says her estate, anyway ... flying in the face of what her self-proclaimed biggest fans are saying. The fact it was once again at the center of fashion and pop culture all these years later is pretty astonishing in ABG's eyes -- and they tell us they think the late Monroe likely would've felt the same way.

Kim Kardashian's decision to wear a 60-year-old piece of fashion history belonging to screen legend Marilyn Monroe has been criticised.

This is so cool. This is so special to me. Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson attend The 2022 Met Gala Celebrating “In America: An Anthology of Fashion” at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 02, 2022 in New York City. Image by Dimitrios Kambouris/AFP

Speaking to the New York Post, Monroe expert Michelle Morgan slammed curators at the Ripley's Believe It or Not! museum where the dress is kept for lending ...

Kardashian was also presented with a lock of Marilyn Monroe's hair ahead of the New York fashion event. 'I looked at them, and I said, give me three weeks, and I had to lose 16 pounds down [to] today to be able to fit this. Right, the dress as it looked in 2016 ahead of its sale for $5million to Ripley's Believe It or Not! museum in Florida 'I didn’t starve myself, but I was so strict.' 'She can – and did – commission a replica which would be indistinguishable from the original. 'This is so special to me - thank you so much, this is so cool.

I am so honored to be wearing the iconic dress that Marilyn Monroe wore in 1962 to sing “Happy Birthday” to President John F. Kennedy. It is a stunning ...

“Everything had to be specifically timed and I had to practice walking up the stairs.” While some have pointed out that the dress isn’t exactly in keeping with this year’s theme of “gilded glamour”, which was coined by Mark Twain and refers to the gilded age between 1870 to 1900. I thought to myself, what would I have done for the American theme if it had not been the Balenciaga look? “When I first tried it on it didn’t fit so I looked at them and I said: ‘Give me, like, three weeks,’” Kardashian recalled of the fitting that included armed guards, before claiming that she lost 16 pounds to fit into the dress. “The idea really came to me after the gala in September last year. I was determined, I was determined to fit.” The Kardashian has since shared how she lost the weight which included a strict diet of “the cleanest veggies and protein” as well as wearing a sauna suit twice a day.

The figure-hugging nude dress worn by Kardashian at Monday's Met Gala contains more than 2,500 handstitched crystals. Kardashian was the final celebrity to walk ...

All of Kardashian’s sisters attend the Met Gala, as did momager Kris Jenner. The figure-hugging nude dress worn by Kardashian at Monday’s Met Gala contains more than 2,500 handstitched crystals. NEW YORK (AP) — Kim Kardashian went for classic and iconic at the Met Gala, once again breaking the internet by donning one of Marilyn Monroe’s most famous looks.