Whether or not you believe Kim Kardashian was “on theme” at the 2022 Met Gala, you have to give credit where credit is due: The most famous of the Kardashian-Jenner sisters arrived at the steps of the Met Museum in the most expensive dress in the world, a feat at once impressive and also extremely on-brand.
The gown in question, a 60-year-old creation first worn by Marilyn Monroe in 1962 when she famously serenaded president John F. Kennedy with a sexy rendition of “Happy Birthday,” was purchased by Ripley’s Believe It or Not! in 2016 for nearly $5 million, a record sale for a dress. Though it’s probably safe to say that Kardashian was insured for the evening, the price tag adds a lot of pressure any way you slice it.
The solution? Kardashian changed out of the original gown after she ascended the Met steps and into a replica that she wore for the rest of the evening, per Vogue.
According to the magazine, the gown is incredibly fragile and usually stored in a temperature-controlled space; as with most museum pieces, gloves are required for handling. So it makes sense that the real thing was only worn for a matter of minutes. Kardashian changed into the gown at the museum with the help of a conservationist from Ripley’s. Once she climbed the steps, she changed into a replica, also owned by Ripley’s.
“I’m extremely respectful to the dress and what it means to American history. I would never want to sit in it or eat in it or have any risk of any damage to it, and I won’t be wearing the kind of body makeup I usually do,” she told Vogue.
The dress was created by French designer Jean-Louis and based on a sketch by the legendary Bob Mackie. For its time, the translucent color was incredibly risqué. “Nowadays everyone wears sheer dresses, but back then, that was not the case,” Kardashian told Vogue. “In a sense, it’s the original naked dress. That’s why it was so shocking.”
