Kim Kardashian has revealed that she changed into a second dress worn by Marilyn Monroe after this year’s Met Gala.
On Monday 2 May, Kardashian arrived on the red carpet steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in a sheer beige floor-length glittering gown previously worn by Monroe in 1962 when she serenaded President John F Kennedy on his 45th birthday.
The outfit choice was possible with help from Ripley’s Believe It Or Not Museum, which loaned the dress to Kardashian so she could pose on the Met Gala red carpet in the 60-year-old gown, before changing into a replica of the dress once she’d ascended the steps.
In a Friday Instagram post, the 41-year-old Skims founder revealed that, after she attended the fashion extravaganza, she returned to her hotel room and changed into another one of Monroe’s iconic looks. Kardashian’s second outfit consisted of a green gown worn by Monroe in 1962 at the Golden Globes.
“To top off my night after The Met, I had the honour of changing into Marilyn Monroe’s Norman Norell dress that she wore to the Golden Globes in 1962 - where she received the Henrietta Award For World Film Favourite,” the billionaire shapewear mogul wrote in the caption. “In my quest to find the Jean Louis hand-beaded dress that I wore to the gala, I discovered @heritageauctions [a collectible auctioneer] owned Marilyn’s iconic green sequined gown.”
The Kardashians star also revealed that her florist, Jeff Leatham, owns the Golden Globe that Monroe won in 1962, which she borrowed to pose with in her photos.
“Further into my research I found out that the owner of the Golden Globe that she received that evening was none other than my friend @jeffleatham,” she continued. “I saw this all as a sign the way that all of the stars aligned.”
Kardashian then proceeded to describe the opportunity to channel her “inner Marilyn” as one of the “greatest privileges of [her] life”.
“It will forever be one of the greatest privileges of my life to be able to channel my inner Marilyn in this way, on such a special night,” she wrote.
Ahead of the fashion event, Kardashian discussed her respect for her borrowed Met Gala gown during an interview with Vogue, in which she acknowledged the need for replicas after she’d made her way up the red carpet steps in the multi-million-dollar dress.
“I’m extremely respectful to the dress and what it means to American history,” she explained. “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.”
While speaking to Vogue on the red carpet, Kardashian also shared the controversial steps she took to be able to fit into the gown, with the reality star claiming she lost 16 pounds by following a restrictive three-week diet, which saw her cut out all “sugar and carbs,” wear a sauna suit, and only eat “the cleanest veggies and proteins”.
“I would wear a sauna suit twice a day, run on the treadmill, completely cut out all sugar and all carbs, and just eat the cleanest veggies and protein,” she explained. “I didn’t starve myself, but I was so strict.”
The revelation that Kardashian wore another iconic Monroe dress comes after the KKW Beauty founder faced backlash from fashion historians for wearing the “Happy Birthday Mr President” dress to the Met Gala. However, Marilyn Monroe’s estate later shared its support for the reality star’s Met Gala outfit choice.
