Did Kim Kardashian damage Marilyn Monroe's famous dress?
This is what a collector claims, a few weeks after the reality TV star donned the mythical garment of the American icon at the Met Gala.
A historic dress, with thousands of crystal beads, worn by Marilyn Monroe in 1962 when she sang "Happy Birthday, Mr President" to John F. Kennedy, and which caused Kim Kardashian to lose more than seven kilos to carry her.
"Crystals missing, some left hanging by a thread...Was it worth it?"
laments collector Scott Fortner in an Instagram post.
Two photos accompany his post and appear to show Marilyn Monroe's dress - supposedly on display at Ripley's Believe It or Not!
- before and after the Met Gala 2022 ceremony, which took place on May 2.
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For the occasion, the Ripley's museum chain had allowed the reality TV star to borrow the legendary dress, usually kept in a dark room, at a temperature of 16 ° C and a humidity rate oscillating between 40 and 50% .
Kim Kardashian only wore it for a few minutes, the time to parade on the red carpet, before donning a replica for the rest of the evening.
A “huge mistake”
“Great care has been taken to preserve this piece of pop culture history.
With input from clothing curators, appraisers and archivists, the condition of the garment was the top priority,” the museum assured in an Instagram post accompanied by a video of the fittings, on May 3.
"I'm extremely respectful of the dress and what it represents to American history.
I would never want to sit in it, eat in it or take the slightest risk of damaging it (…) Everything had to be timed and I practiced climbing the stairs, ”Kim Kardashian also explained.
Not enough to convince critics of the initiative, like fashion designer Bob Mackie, the designer of Marilyn Monroe's dress.
“It's a huge mistake.
Marilyn was a goddess.
A crazy goddess, but a goddess nonetheless.
(…) This dress was made for her, designed for her.
Nobody else should wear that dress,” he told Entertainment Weekly.