Marilyn Monroe

Images surfaced of apparent damage done to the Marilyn Monroe dress Kim Kardashian wore to the Met Gala, garnering new criticism.

It was designed for her. And it was done for her. It was designed specifically and ONLY for her. “This dress, it was hers. It was always with a Ripley’s representative. Kardashian struck a deal with Ripley’s Believe It or Not to wear the gold “Happy Birthday” dress, which has been valued at nearly $5 million, to the star-studded fashion event.

Marilyn Monroe's 1962 “Happy Birthday Mr. President” dress appears to have sustained damage after Kim Kardashian wore it to the Met Gala in May.

“It is significant that the dress was worn at all,” Pontillo added. Weeks later, the industry group International Council of Museums joined the cohort of critics, issuing a statement condemning Ripley Entertainment for potentially endangering a cultural artifact. Last month, when the Jean Louis–designed dress was worn by Kardashian, fashion conservators and museum professionals raised concerns.

After Kim Kardashian wore it to the 2022 Met Gala, Marilyn Monroe's 1962 dress went on display and the visible damage is upsetting historians anew.

“That era is gone and yet that is the dress that survives to remind us of that time and to take us back,” Jones said. “I saw this all as a sign the way that all of the stars aligned. Aside from fittings, the Skims founder and Monroe superfan wore the gown only for the red-carpet portion of the gala. Despite the outcry over the Jean Louis gown, Kardashian — apparently styling herself as a modern-day Monroe who will go to great lengths to preserve her own appearance — proudly wore another historic Monroe dress days later. After she lost about 16 pounds, Ripley’s conceded and said, “Great care was taken to preserve this piece of history.” It was meant to be cheeky. Even after all the platitudes of being careful and [Kardashian] not wearing body makeup — damage was going to happen,” Jones said. It was meant to be provocative. The before photos appear to show the dress while it was on display in 2016. Textile conservators and fashion historians said that the dress, which hadn’t been worn since Monroe slipped into it, was too fragile to sustain being worn again. “There was no way ever that the dress could have been worn by anybody and not damaged. The dress also is embroidered with heavy beadwork that pulls down on the fabric as time passes.

The vintage dress by Jean-Louis was worn by Monroe in 1962 at then US President John F Kennedy's 45th birthday.

"I'm extremely respectful to the dress and what it means to American history," Kardashian said ahead of the party. https://t.co/nNgtJCiufI— The Marilyn Diaries (@MarilynDiary) 1655161095000 The historic Marilyn Monroe dress has been damaged. "Pre and post Kim Kardashian. Marilyn Monroe’s 4 million dollar president dress is destroyed forever. Several crystals have fallen off the dress as well, including sheer material shredding. For what?

"Kim, you will always go down in history for destroying Marilyn Monroe's birthday dress. That is what your legacy will be."

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A collector shared photos of the dress taken last week that appear to show stretched and buckling fabric, along with missing crystals or ones 'left hanging ...

To make matters worse, Kardashian admitted that she did not fit into the dress at the first fitting and went on a crash diet to lose 16 pounds over the course of three weeks. “Without question, the damage is significant.” “Great care was taken to preserve this piece of pop culture history. In a followup post, The Marilyn Monroe Collection Instagram shared a video of Monroe’s dress taken before Kardashian wore it, responding to those doubting how much damage had actually been done. She had to carry a fur stole on the red carpet as the dress would not close completely in the back. Kardashian wore the gown to the Met Gala last month – she and boyfriend Pete Davidson were among the last to walk the red carpet and Kardashian shocked onlookers when she stepped out in the iconic dress Monroe wore to serenade John F. Kennedy on his 45th birthday in 1962.

Kim Kardashian attends "In America: An Anthology of Fashion," the 2022 Costume Institute Benefit at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 02, 2022 in New York ...

“There was a bit of relief that a company — that was a public company that did exhibitions and displays — had purchased the dress. Other images and videos taken of the dress by Ripley’s visitors appear to show several crystals missing, with some guests acknowledging there was damage prior to Fortner posting Sunday’s high-res images. “So my worry is that colleagues in historic costume collections are now going to be pressured by important people to let them wear garments.” “The fear of the Monroe fanbase at the time was [that] someone would buy it and just hide it away in their personal collection and it would never be seen,” Fortner says. Fortner tells Rolling Stone that he was initially excited when Ripley’s purchased the dress. Monroe reportedly had to be sewn into the bedazzled, figure-hugging number before surprising President John F. Kennedy with her infamous rendition of “Happy Birthday” in 1962. She later decided the safest solution was to wear a white shrug to cover her backside. Inside, Kardashian wore a replica of the sheer, 6,000 hand-sewn crystal dress. “She stole that moment of history and I’m so mad about it.” (Representatives for Kardashian and Ripley’s did not return requests for comment.) But Sunday’s photos show even more beading had fallen off, some jewels hanging by a thread and damage to one of the straps. There is also noticeable tearing in the delicate silk souffle fabric near the zipper and clasp enclosures. (Rolling Stone has confirmed the legitimacy of the recent photos, reviewing metadata of when and where the images were taken.)

Kim Kardashian permanently damaged a historic Marilyn Monroe dress after wearing it to the Met Gala, an expert closely familiar with the dress says.

"This is the dress we have to look at now for the rest of our history," he adds. "When someone has the audacity to put it on and walk in it up the stairs, you're so ignorant to the history of that piece of fabric that it makes me so angry." “I’m extremely respectful to the dress and what it means to American history. "My heart is broken. "When you're dealing with 60-year-old material and fabric and thread and sequins... It was like skin on her body," says Morrissette.

Marilyn Monroe's “Happy Birthday, Mr. President” dress was worn and (allegedly damaged) by Kim Kardashian at the 2022 Met Gala. From a record-setting ...

Mackie, the creator of the original sketch of the dress, tells Entertainment Weekly it “was a big mistake” to allow Kardashian to put on the actual “Happy Birthday” gown. In addition to concerns about preservation and structural integrity, he takes issue with the principle of wearing a garment so closely tied to Monroe. “It was designed for her,” Mackie says. (The museum apparently has also given her a wad of Monroe’s hair.) According to People, Kardashian tells Vogue that she lost 16 pounds in three weeks to fit into the dress. According to the museum, auction fees put the final price at more than $5 million, which sets a record for the most expensive dress ever sold at an auction. 1999: Per The Marilyn Monroe Collection, the bulk of Marilyn Monroe’s estate (including her clothing, furniture, and awards) is auctioned off in New York in October. The “Happy Birthday, Mr. President” dress sells for almost $1.3 million. From President John F. Kennedy to Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, here’s the history of the “Happy Birthday” dress.