Kim Kardashian arrived at the Met Gala in the same dress Marilyn Monroe wore to sing 'Happy Birthday' to President John F. Kennedy in 1962
- Kim Kardashian made a statement at the 2022 Met Gala on Monday in a Jean Louis dress.
- She wore the same look Marilyn Monroe had on when she sang for President John F. Kennedy in 1962.
Kim Kardashian channeled Marilyn Monroe on the Met Gala red carpet on Monday.
The SKIMS founder borrowed Monroe's formfitting Bob Mackie dress from the Ripley's Believe It or Not! Museum in Orlando, Florida, for fashion's biggest night. Monroe first wore the dress to sing "Happy Birthday" to the late President John F. Kennedy in 1962 at a Madison Square Garden fundraiser.
"The idea really came to me after the gala in September last year," Kardashian told Vogue on the Met steps. "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."
Kardashian was so committed to her Marilyn Monroe look that she even dyed her hair blonde. She said she was inspired to embrace the "In America: An Anthology of Fashion" theme of the night by re-creating one of the most iconic moments in Monroe's life.
"Nowadays, everyone wears sheer dresses. But back then that was not the case," Kardashian said. "In a sense, it's the original naked dress. That's why it was so shocking."
According to People, the dress originally cost $12,000 and was purchased at an auction by Ripley's in 2016 for $4.81 million. Because it sold at that price, it set a Guinness World Record for the most expensive dress sold at auction, according to Ripley's.
Kardashian told Vogue that when she first tried on the dress, people with gloves had to help her get it on because it was so delicate. She also said that she lost 16 pounds in three weeks just to make sure that she could squeeze into it.
"I was determined to fit in it," she told Vogue host LaLa Anthony. "Since I haven't eaten carbs or sugar in 3 weeks, we're having a pizza and doughnut party back at the hotel."
Viewers also got to see Kardashian take tiny steps on the red carpet when she arrived at the gala. Her boyfriend, Pete Davidson, was also there to help her get up the famous museum steps.
Kardashian's ensemble this year was completely different from her Balenciaga outfit, which made her look unrecognizable.
Kardashian arrived at the "In America: A Lexicon of Fashion" red carpet in September 2021 wearing a black bodysuit with two trains that covered her face, arms, legs, and heels. On top of the suit, she wore an oversized black T-shirt as a minidress.
The SKIMS founder revealed on Instagram that her look was inspired by a T-shirt, saying: "What's more American than a T-shirt head to toe?!"
Insider's Samantha Grindell reported that Kanye West also played an "instrumental" role in helping Kardashian with her custom Balenciaga look designed by the brand's creative director, Demna Gvasalia.
"Even though Kanye is not attending tonight, his presence will be felt on the carpet," a source familiar with the situation told Insider at the time. "It was him who introduced Kim to Demna and was instrumental in the newly formed relationship between her and Balenciaga."
Representatives for Kim Kardashian did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.