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Ariana Baio
Jun 14, 2022
Marilyn Monroe dress allegedly damaged after Kim Kardashian Met Gala outing
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On Wednesday reports claimed that the iconic Marilyn Monroe dress Kim Kardashian wore to the Met Gala was left 'permanently damaged'
An Instagram account called The Marilyn Monroe Collection posted a series of photos showing damage done to the dress before and after Kardashian wore it, provided by Chad Michael Christian Morrisette.
In the photos, multiple crystals can be seen missing from sections on the back of the dress and the fabric appears to be stretched out near the zipper.
"So much for keeping “the integrity of the dress and the preservation.” [Ripley's Believe It or Not!] , was it worth it?" The Marilyn Monroe Collection wrote on Instagram.
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Kardashian, 41, notably wore the dress that Monroe wore while singing 'Happy Birthday Mr. President' to John F. Kennedy in 1962.
The reality TV star told Vogue in order to fit into the iconic dress she needed to lose 16 pounds in three weeks and even then, Kardashian was unable to zipper the dress up her back while walking the red carpet, instead opting to wear a shawl around it.
Kardashian only wore the dress on the carpet for a few minutes and then slipped into a replica for the actual event.
But upon learning of the alleged damage, fans and fashion enthusiasts expressed their outrage.
"What a bad decision and what a pity that she didn't wore from the start a replica after all," an Instagram commenter wrote.
"No one should EVER be allowed to wear fashion icon history! Period," another commenter wrote.
Ripley's Believe It or Not! issued a statement about the dress the night of the gala ensuring fans that "Great care was taken to preserve this piece of pop culture history. With input from garment conservationists, appraisers, and archivists, the garment’s condition was top priority. Believe It or Not! no alterations were to be made to the dress and Kim even changed into a replica after the red carpet."
But now many are angry that the museum allowed a piece of history to be worn for an event.
\u201cSeeing a lot of tweets shitting on Kim Kardashian for ruining the Marilyn dress and I've yet to see ONE calling out Ripley's Believe It or Not who shouldn't have had it in the first place, let alone let someone wear it.\u201d— \ud835\udca5\ud835\udcb6\ud835\udcc8\ud835\udcc2\ud835\udcbe\ud835\udcc3\ud83d\udc37 (@\ud835\udca5\ud835\udcb6\ud835\udcc8\ud835\udcc2\ud835\udcbe\ud835\udcc3\ud83d\udc37) 1655159111
"I don’t blame Kim Kardashian for this one. I blame the people who let her borrow a dress that they said was historic," a Twitter user wrote.
Bob Mackie who sketched the famous dress for Monroe told Entertainment Weekly in May that he thought "it was a big mistake" to allow Kardashian to wear the one-of-a-kind dress.
"[Marilyn] was a goddess," Mackie told EW. "A crazy goddess, but a goddess. She was just fabulous. Nobody photographs like that. And it was done for her. It was designed for her. Nobody else should be seen in that dress."
However Ripley's disputes the claims.
On Thursday the museum issued a statement confirming Kardashian and had not damaged the iconic dress.
“From the bottom of the Met steps, where Kim got into the dress, to the top where it was returned, the dress was in the same condition it started in,” Ripley’s VP of Publishing and Licensing, Amanda Joiner said.
Ripley's noted that Joiner was continuously with the dress the day of the Gala and during transport from Orlando to New York.
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