Kim Kardashian wearing Marilyn Monroe's dress was a 'big mistake,' says the man who designed it

Kim Kardashian wearing Marilyn Monroe's dress was a 'big mistake,' says Bob Mackie, the man who designed the historic gown

Actress Marilyn Monroe sings "Happy Birthday" to President John F. Kennedy at Madison Square Garden, for his upcoming 45th birthday/Kim Kardashian attends The 2022 Met Gala Celebrating "In America: An Anthology of Fashion" at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 02, 2022 in New York City.
(Image credit: Bettmann / Contributor/Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)

Kim Kardashian sporting Marilyn Monroe's famous gown was arguably one of the standout fashion moments from the star-studded event. It's also churned up plenty of controversy, which is not exactly out of the ordinary for the star.

Although it's not the first time Kim Kardashian's Met Gala look split opinion, this time there's a whole extra layer of issue with her garment of choice—historical importance.

Of all the Met Gala 2022 moments you may have missed, there's no chance you missed this one.

The gown, originally worn by Marilyn Monroe when she sang Happy Birthday to then-president, Jack F Kennedy, made best Met Gala looks lists all over the place. However, Bob Mackie, the man who designed the original 1962 Jean Louis dress, isn't happy about the reality star wearing his creation at all.


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Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, the veteran designer said, "I thought it was a big mistake." He continued, "[Marilyn] was a goddess. A crazy goddess, but a goddess."

"She was just fabulous. Nobody photographs like that," he said of the late actor who died aged 36. "And it was done for her. It was designed for her. Nobody else should be seen in that dress."

Marilyn Monroe

(Image credit: Baron / Stringer / Getty Images)

Before Bob even addressed the star wearing the historic dress, the most expensive dress bought at auction to date, that sold for $4.8M at Julien's auctions back in 2016—Kim's body extreme body transformation was cause for concern.

Speaking to Vogue, the reality star explained, “I did want a physical change too,” she added. As well as dying her hair platinum blonde, the star told the publication that she lost 16lbs (7kg) in less than a month to fit into the dress—which could not be altered.

“It was such a challenge,” she told Vogue. “It was like a role. I was determined to fit this. I would wear a sauna suit twice a day, run on the treadmill, completely cut out all sugar and all carbs, and just eat the cleanest veggies and protein."

Aoife Hanna
Junior News Editor

Aoife is an Irish journalist and writer with a background in creative writing, comedy, and TV production.

Formerly woman&home's junior news editor and a contributing writer at Bustle, her words can be found in the Metro, Huffpost, Delicious, Imperica and EVOKE.

Her poetry features in the Queer Life, Queer Love anthology.

Outside of work you might bump into her at a garden center, charity shop, yoga studio, lifting heavy weights, or (most likely) supping/eating some sort of delicious drink/meal.