Double take! Kim Kardashian transformed into Marilyn Monroe for the 2022 Met Gala and it’s safe to say that she’s left both fans and critics at a loss for words.
The KKW Beauty founder, 41, borrowed the late actress’s famous dress from Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Museum in Orlando, Florida, and says she lost a whopping 16 pounds in three weeks to fit into it.
The museum purchased the iconic number from Julien’s Auctions for $4.6 million in 2016, making it one of the most expensive dresses in the world.
Considering its price and history, getting her hands on the dress wasn’t exactly an easy feat for Kardashian. “I had this idea to try it on and then they came with armed guards and gloves,” she told Vogue correspondent La La Anthony on the red carpet.
She teamed the rhinestone-embroidered Jean Louis gown with a white fur shawl and diamond earrings, just as Monroe did 60 years prior when the Some Like It Hot actress sang “Happy Birthday” to then-President John. F. Kennedy at a Madison Square Garden Fundraiser.
Kardashian even dyed her brunette strands Monroe’s signature shade of platinum blonde for the occasion — a grueling process that took a whopping 14 hours courtesy of celebrity hairstylist Chris Appleton.
The last time the dress was worn was in 1962, when Monroe famously wore it for President John F. Kennedy, who the starlet was rumored to have had an affair with.
Per Diet Prada, Monroe purchased the dress for “around $1,440 in 1962” which would ring in at about $13,000 today.
To keep the historical dress in pristine condition, Kardashian was asked to change out of the dress into a replica after posing in it on the red carpet.
The mom of four admitted she has been dreaming up this look for months now. “The idea really came to me after the gala in September last year,” she told Vogue. “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.”
“For me the most Marilyn Monroe moment is when she sang “Happy Birthday,” to JFK, it was that look.”
In the weeks leading up to the Met Gala, fans had already begun speculating that she was going to wear the dress based on hints she was dishing out to press. For example, she told Access Hollywood that the dress she planned to wear couldn’t be altered or tailored. In other words, it wasn’t just vintage but super special.
Better yet, she and boyfriend Pete Davidson were spotted at the museum in April, so when fans put all the puzzle pieces together, they reasoned that it was probably Monroe’s dress. No secret is safe from a dutiful fan!