What’s all the fuss about a dress of a woman who’s no more? What’s the history of the dress? How is it relevant to the history of the United States Of America and why does it concern us?
The hype is all about Kim Kardashian’s iconic 2022 Met Gala dress. She borrowed the dress from Ripley’s Believe It Or Not Museum for the Met Gala held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Newyork earlier this year on the first Monday of May.
The Iconic Dress Saga
Kim chose to wear the dress worn by the iconic actress Marilyn Monroe when she sang ‘Happy Birthday Mister President’ to the then President of the United States of America: John F. Kennedy. This rhinestone embellished, nude dress was donned by Marilyn Monroe for the big party held at Madison Square Garden for the President’s 45th birthday celebration.
The icing on the cake for this much talked about appearance by Monroe was her alleged affairs with the Kennedy brothers and her otherwise controversial life. Marilyn, 35 at that time was dealing with major anxiety, depression and was struggling with bouts of drug addiction and abuse.
The dress donned by her along with her appearance at the party created quite an uproar due to her presence at one of the biggest political events in the country along with her involvement with the Kennedy brothers.
The Kardashian Connection
Kim Kardashian donned this bejewelled dress as an ode to the iconic actress for the the Gala. The dress is designed by Bob Mackie who made Marilyn look like an absolute goddess. The dress is on display at the Ripley’s Believe It Or Not Museum.
Kim Kardashian lost about 16 pounds to fit in to the dress and even after going on several fad diets, using a sauna suit, she couldn’t fit in the dress perfectly. The dress wouldn’t zip up and hence, she use a fur coat as a cover up. Kim also received a lot of backlash for setting unrealistic body standards to fit in to the dress.
After the Met Gala, pictures of the dress being ripped the, rhinestones falling apart started surfacing online and the internet went into a major meltdown. People started blaming Kardashian for her carelessness and irresponsibility and putting such an essential part of American fashion history into jeopardy. People also lashed out at her for her odd obsession and need to fit in to a dead woman’s dress.
The Internet Meltdown
Kim Kardashian had stated that she only wore the dress on the carpet and after which she changed into a replica of the dress because she wouldn’t ever want to sit or eat in the original piece.
Until Kardashian decided to wear it half the world population wasn’t even quite aware about the existence of the dress. The dress is a signature piece of American fashion and has been preserved for years. Ripley’s Believe It Or Not Museum however denies any harm caused to the dress and claims it’s been returned in the same condition as it was given to her.
Aftermath
The Internet however loves a controversy and loves to have someone to diss and lash out on. The Kardashians being their favorite target of all time. Fashion in so many ways has evolved and so have we but some pieces are timeless, they are attached to significant events of the history of the world and hold a special memory that continues to be etched in the minds of the people for years to come. This is one such piece of fashion.
Maybe a few years down the line, we may have some of the coolest dresses of our era going down in history. You never know: it could be one of the magnanimous Met Gala dresses worn by some of the leading ladies of our time. We can wait and watch!
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