Marilyn Monroe’s iconic gown, controversially worn by Kim Kardashian at the 2022 Met Gala, has allegedly sustained “permanent damage” according to a Marilyn Monroe collector who inspected the dress last week.
It was the same dress Monroe wore when she sang “Happy Birthday, Mr. President” to John F. Kennedy in 1962.
Scott Forner, the collector who inspects and authenticates Marilyn Monroe memorabilia, posted a photo of the dress with apparent stretching and tearing in the back of the dress. The dress also seems to be missing some crystals around the zipper.
“So much for keeping ‘the integrity of the dress and the preservation.’ @ripleysbelieveitornot , was it worth it?” Forner asked on Instagram.
The dress was lent to Kardashian for this year’s Met Gala by Ripley’s Believe It or Not museum in Orlando. The dress was meant to fit with the theme, America: An Anthology of Fashion, and it seemed fitting that a modern day sex symbol like Kardashian would pay homage to Monroe.
Ripley’s decision to lend Kardashian the dress garnered a lot of controversy, particularly from fashion curators and historians, who warned that the dress would be damaged if worn by anyone. The International Council of Museums spoke out against the decision.
“Historic garments should not be worn by anybody, public or private figures,” they said in a statement in May.
There had already been controversy around Kardashian fitting into the dress, after she claimed she had to lose 16 pounds in three weeks to fit into the gown, eliminating sugar and carbs from her diet and adhering to a strict workout schedule.
Some on the internet were unhappy with what they saw as glorification of crash dieting from Kardashian, but she later defended herself, saying “To me it was like, ‘OK, Christian Bale can do it for a movie role and that is acceptable.’”
Kardashian has not yet responded to claims that she damaged the dress, but the internet has erupted in anger at her and Ripley’s over the alleged desecration.
And this is why every historical garment archivist and textile expert about had a coronary seeing Kim Kardashian in Marilyn Monroe's dress. https://t.co/XIs9MOeEiK
— 🌈Kathryn Brightbill (@KEBrightbill) June 13, 2022
Seeing a lot of tweets shitting on Kim Kardashian for ruining the Marilyn dress and I've yet to see ONE calling out Ripley's Believe It or Not who shouldn't have had it in the first place, let alone let someone wear it.
— 𝒥𝒶𝓈𝓂𝒾𝓃🐷 (@jasminpigemoji) June 13, 2022
