Marilyn Monroe Dress Has ‘Irreparable Damage’ After Kardashian Wore It At Met
At this year’s Met Gala, everyone was abuzz about Kim Kardashian. While that may seem to be the case every year, this time, it was because the media mogul had shown up to the event donning a special dress, an iconic nude piece once worn by Marilyn Monroe worth approximately US$4.8 million.
Many people took issue with Kardashian’s admission to going on a crash diet in order to fit into the outfit, but it appears there’s yet another problem brewing, with posts by Scott Fortner— a collector who authenticates Monroe memorabilia—recently surfacing that seem to show the dress is now stretched and buckled, with missing crystals on its back.
“So much for keeping ‘the integrity of the dress and the preservation’ @riplesbelieveitornot, was it worth it?” Fortner wrote on Instagram, pointedly questioning Ripley’s Believe It Or Not!, who owns the rights to the dress.
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According to USA Today, the images were captured by ChadMichael Morrissette, a visual artist who had previously worked on displaying the dress, as he observed the “irreparable damage” when he visited its display at the museum following the Met Gala.
In the pictures, the dress appears to have a damaged zipper, shredded fabric, and missing crystals and sequins on its back. Morrissette told the site he felt emotional upon seeing the outfit in its current state, and that he “literally left Ripley’s trying not to cry.”
According to The Guardian, the International Council of Museums had articulated its displeasure with Kardashian wearing the dress, saying that “historic garments” should not be worn by public or private figures, and that the dress should have been “kept preserved for future generations.”
Before Kardashian made an appearance at the Met Gala, the dress had been kept in a temperature-controlled environment ever since it was acquired in 2016, and had not been put on by anyone else.
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[via USA Today and The Guardian, cover image via Ripley’s Believe It Or Not!]
