Gentlemen prefer blondes, indeed.
Kim Kardashian hit the Met Gala 2022 red carpet on Monday in full Marilyn Monroe mode, sporting freshly dyed blond hair and an iconic dress once seen on the Hollywood bombshell.
Kardashian sparkled up the Met steps in the exact Jean Louis gown Monroe wore to sing “Happy Birthday, Mr. President” to John F. Kennedy during his 45th birthday celebration at Madison Square Garden in 1962.
Dubbed the “world’s most expensive dress,” the crystal-studded creation set a Guinness World Record when Ripley’s Believe It or Not! acquired it at auction for a whopping $4.8 million (over $5 million including auction fees).
“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,” Kardashian told Vogue.
“For me the most Marilyn Monroe moment is when she sang ‘Happy Birthday,’ to JFK, it was that look,” she added. “Nowadays everyone wears sheer dresses, but back then that was not the case … In a sense, it’s the original naked dress. That’s why it was so shocking.”
See all the celebrity looks from Met Gala 2022 with Page Six Style’s live coverage.
Fans began speculating that Kardashian might choose the unforgettable design for the “In America: An Anthology of Fashion”-themed Met Gala last month, when the fashion mogul and boyfriend Pete Davidson paid a visit to the Ripley’s Believe It or Not! headquarters in Orlando, Florida, where they reportedly spent three hours.
What’s more, Kardashian told “Access Hollywood” in early April that her attendance at the gala was conditional upon whether or not she could fit into her outfit.
“I think it will be up to the last minute because it can’t be tailored, so I have to fit into it exactly,” she teased of her look. “So we will see if I can shape-shift for the night.”
It makes sense that Ripley’s wouldn’t allow Monroe’s gown to be altered — even for one of the world’s most famous women. Dotted with 2,500 sparkling stones, the skintight dress was custom-made for the “How to Marry a Millionaire” actress, who was sewn into it prior to taking the stage for JFK’s birthday serenade.
But Kardashian is famous for her serious commitment to Met Gala fashion, having attended the 2021 event wearing a fully-masked Balenciaga outfit and squeezed into a tightly corseted Thierry Mugler dress in 2019.
She previously channeled Monroe for Vogue Brazil in 2015 — and even her estranged husband, Kanye West, has compared the two stars.
“Kim is Marilyn Monroe. You know that. She was controversial. She [is] controversial,” West said during a 2013 radio interview.
That same year, former French Vogue editor Carine Roitfeld issued a similar statement, telling Time Out, “She’s controversial, but so was Marilyn Monroe, and I always like controversial people.”
Plus, with its glitzy embellishments and champagne hue, the look certainly fit this year’s “gilded glamour” dress code.
