Kim Kardashian‘s Met Gala legacy involving the iconic Marilyn Monroe dress is looking tainted following recent reports that the reality star might have damaged the dress beyond repair.
As you might know, Kim turned heads at the 2022 Met Gala in May, recreating history as she donned Monroe’s legendary happy birthday dress to walk the red carpet.
The sentimental dress, which is worth almost $5 million and believed to be a national treasure, was lent to Kim for the big night, resulting in backlash from fans and Monroe experts who believed it was a disrespectful act.
Now, it seems the uproar wasn’t particularly out of place as the valuable dress suffered some major tearing.
Marilyn Monroe Dress Has Missing Crystals And Noticeable Tears
Earlier today, The Marilyn Monroe Collection took to Instagram to share a side-by-side photo of the iconic outfits before and after it was worn by the “KUWTK.”
In the before image, the dress looked snug and clean with the crystal embellishments all in place. However, in the after picture, some crystals are noticeably missing while the zip area looks expanded with loose threads.
The collection page lamented in the accompanying caption, “Just in case you missed it… Missing crystals, and some left hanging by a thread. The dress, on display at Ripley’s Hollywood location on June 12, 2022. Shared with me by @1morrisette. @ripleysbelieveitornot , Was it worth it?”
As you might know, Ripley’s Believe It Or Not Museum acquired the record-breaking expensive dress during its auction in 2016 and lent it to Kim for the “In America: An Anthology on Fashion” theme of the Met Gala.
However, the process wasn’t a smooth one as the reality star was denied access to the dress at first because of her weight. Nevertheless, Kim was so determined and lost a whopping 16lbs just to fit into it.
In fact, she only wore the outfit for just 5 minutes to walk the stairs, before changing to a replica to prevent the dress from experiencing any damage. However, it seems that wasn’t enough.
The Marilyn Monroe Collection shared several of Ripley’s Believe It Or Not Museum’s quotes about the extra miles taken to preserve the historical dress. Now, it seems all that hard work was to no avail.
Monroe Experts & Designer Bashed Kim For Wearing The Dress
Before the unfortunate news of the damage, Kim was on the receiving end of backlash for dishonoring Monroe’s legacy and potentially causing harm to the 60-year-old dress whose fabric was already strained.
Monroe expert, author Michelle Morgan who wrote the book “The Girl: Marilyn Monroe, the Seven Year Itch, and the Birth of an Unlikely Feminist,” was one of the loudest voices condemning “The Kardashians” star.
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“I am extremely disappointed to see this 60-year-old, iconic dress being worn in public,” Morgan complained. “The gown is extremely fragile and has been previously kept in temperature-controlled conditions, but now here it is, not only being worn, but also in a red carpet environment, where anything could have happened to it.”
The sentiment was largely supported by Bob Mackie, the costume designer who sketched the mind-blowing dress back in 1962. As The Blast reported, during an interview, Mackie shared his distaste for Kim in the dress, saying:
“Marilyn was a goddess. 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.”
The famed designer called Kim wearing the dress “a big mistake” and raised serious concerns about the structural damage that would be caused to the dress.
Fans Are Even Angrier After The Damage
Following the news of the damage, fans are furious with Kim and Ripley’s Believe It Or Not Museum for committing such an atrocity. One internet user wrote, “Even angrier now … how far one individual will go to obtain notoriety by wearing a historically important dress …such a lack of respect … am I surprised ? Not really !!!”
Another comment read, “So sad that this has happened. I can’t believe anyone was allowed to wear this very special historical piece 🥲” while this fan added, “If you really loved Marilyn you would have preserved the integrity of the garment. It’s ruined forever now.”
This follower wrote, “So disappointing, especially when she had a replica made, there was no reason for her to try to fit into a dress that was NEVER meant for her body type.”
Neither Kim nor Ripley’s Believe It Or Not Museum has publicly commented on the matter at the time of this writing.
