Kim Kardashian stunned onlookers at the 2022 Met Gala when she turned up on the red carpet wearing the same dress Marilyn Monroe donned as she sang Happy Birthday to President John. F Kennedy in 1962 — and again when she admitted to losing 16 LB in 3 weeks to fit into the iconic garment — but it appears that the legendary dress didn’t make it through the $35,000 a ticket affair unscathed.
The dress belongs to a museum operated by Ripley's Believe It Or Not, a company known for specializing in oddities, which usually keeps the garment in a dark, humidity and temperature-controlled vault.
They acquired the get-up from Julien’s Auctions, which purchased the iconic ensemble in 2016 for $4.8 million.
While it was undoubtedly the most talked about look of the night, it appears that the dress wasn’t returned in quite the same condition as when Kim borrowed it, despite efforts by Ripley’s to protect the pricey piece of garb.
“Great care was taken to preserve this piece of pop culture history,” a press release from Ripley’s stated at the time. “With input from garment conservationists, appraisers, and archivists, the garment’s condition was top priority. Believe It or Not! no alterations were to be made to the dress and Kim even changed into a replica after the red carpet!”
Amanda Joiner — vice president of licensing and publishing at Ripley’s — explained to the Daily Beast that no one other than Marilyn had ever donned the outfit, so strict measures were put in place to protect the piece from damage.
“We basically had many conversations with Kim and her team and put a lot of requirements in place with security and with the handling of the dress,” Joiner told the out. “The dress was never with Kim alone. It was always with a Ripley’s representative. We always ensured that at any time we felt that the dress was in danger of ripping, or we felt uncomfortable about anything, we always had the ability to be able to say we were going to continue with this.”
An Instagram account for the Scott Fortner Marilyn Monroe Collection — which bills itself as the world’s largest private collection of Monroe’s personal property — has shared a photo of the condition of the dress after Kim took it for a spin at the Met, and it looks like all the protective measures were for naught!
The garment appears to be missing some of its iconic crystals, while others are left hanging by a thread.
Source: Daily Beast, Teen Vogue