Kim Kardashian wears Marilyn Monroe’s dress at Met Gala before changing into replica

Dress was worn by Monroe in 1962 to serenade President John F Kennedy, while Kardashian underwent 14-hour hair transformation

Chelsea Ritschel
New York
Tuesday 03 May 2022 15:13 BST
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Pete Davidson helps Kim Kardashian struggle up Met steps in Marilyn Monroe gown
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Kim Kardashian has arrived on the red carpet at the 2022 Met Gala in a gown worn by Marilyn Monroe, which she paired with a newly blonde hairdo.

On Monday, The Kardashians star made her debut on the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art with her boyfriend, comedian Pete Davidson.

For the occasion, the Skims founder chose a bedazzled sheer beige floor-length gown, which was previously worn by Monroe in 1962 to serenade President John F Kennedy on his 45th birthday.

According to Kardashian, she had the idea to try on the dress, which she told Vogue livestream host La La Anthony came with “armed guards,” but found that the gown initially didn’t fit.

“So I looked at them and I said: ‘Give me, like, three weeks,’” Kardashian recalled, before claiming that she lost 16 pounds to fit into the dress. “It was such a challenge, it was like a roll. I was determined, I was determined to fit.”

The reality star said her team had their doubts, before concluding: “And I did it.”

According to Vogue, Kardashian came up with the idea to wear the gown during last year’s Met Gala, as she noted Monroe is one of the most “American thing[s] you can think of”.

Kim Kardashian wears Marilyn Monroe’s dress at Met Gala
Kim Kardashian wears Marilyn Monroe’s dress at Met Gala (Getty Images for The Met Museum/)

“The idea really came to me after the gala in September last year. I thought to myself, what would I have done for the American theme if it had not been the Balenciaga look? What’s the most American thing you can think of? And that’s Marilyn Monroe,” she said. “For me the most Marilyn Monroe moment is when she sang Happy Birthday.”

While Kardashian wore the original dress while posing on the Met Gala steps, she later changed into a replica of the gown, as she told Vogue that she “would never want to sit in it or eat in it or have any risk of any damage to it,” and had not worn the “kind of body makeup I usually do”.

The outlet also reported that Kardashian spent 14 hours bleaching her hair ahead of tonight’s Met Gala.

While speaking with Vogue on the red carpet, Kardashian also revealed that she plans to be blonde for “a while”. During the interview, Kardashian was then briefly joined by Davidson, who attempted to walk away before she urged him back.

Kim Kardashian attended Met Gala with boyfriend Pete Davidson
Kim Kardashian attended Met Gala with boyfriend Pete Davidson (Getty Images for The Met Museum/)

After earning praise from Anthony for his Met Gala look, the Saturday Night Live comedian joked that Kardashian didn’t “let” him wear his “propeller hat”.

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