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Kim Kardashian turned heads at this year’s Met Gala in New York when she arrived wearing a classic gown from Marilyn Monroe's closet, but the man who designed the dress wasn't impressed that Kim wore it.
Marilyn wore the sparkling dress when she sang her flirty rendition of Happy Birthday to President John F Kennedy at a fundraiser in 1962.
It's now been revealed that famed designer Bob Mackie (82), who drew the original sketch for the dress in 1962, was far from impressed with Kim's decision to wear it to the event, calling it a "big mistake".
"[Marilyn] was a goddess. A crazy goddess, but a goddess. She was just fabulous. Nobody photographs like that. And it was done for her. It was designed for her," he explains.
"Nobody else should be seen in that dress."
The fragile gown is covered in thousands of hand-sewn crystals and it's the first time it's been worn in the 60 years since Marilyn's iconic pop culture moment.
The designer, who described the Kardashians as "just famous for being famous", said he was concerned that wearing the gown would damage its structural integrity and thwart attempts to preserve it.
Bob was a 23-year-old fashion assistant when he sketched the gown under the direction of French-born Hollywood costume designer Jean Louis.
Marilyn died from a drug overdose three months after she wore the dress.
The dress was ahead of its time, Kim (41) told Vogue in an interview published before she appeared on the red carpet. She said the idea came to her after last year's gala in September, when every inch of her, including her face, was covered in a black Balenciaga creation.
“I always thought she [Marilyn] was extremely curvy. I imagined I might be smaller in some places where she was bigger, and bigger in places where she was smaller. So when it didn’t fit me, I wanted to cry because it can’t be altered at all.”
Kim said she was “forever grateful” for the opportunity to wear the gown, but it didn’t come without sacrifice. She claims to have lost 7k in just three weeks to fit into the figure-hugging gown, which couldn’t be altered.
“I wanted to cry tears of joy when it [the zip] went up,” she said, adding that she only wore it “for a matter of minutes” due to its historical significance.
Despite Bob's criticism, it seems nothing is off limits when it comes to Kim Kardashian’s fashion choices.
The celebrity, who wore a "sauna suit twice a day" and spent “14 hours straight” dyeing her hair blonde to complete her look for the Met Gala, also told Ellen DeGeneres she’d “literally wear anything” to pull off a look.
From the tight, waist-whittled “wet look” Mugler dress she wore in 2019 to a mask obscuring her vision for the 2021 Met Gala or unimaginably high stiletto boots and skintight latex, the mom of four is known for regularly sacrificing comfort in the name of fashion.
“I don't care how uncomfortable, I don't care how long, if I have to wear a diaper and not go to the bathroom . . . I don't care what I have to do,” she said.
Her look for the Met Gala's Gilded Glamour theme was only for her strut at the base of the Met Gala steps. She then changed into a replica dress in a special fitting room with a Ripley's conservationist assisting her.
“I didn’t starve myself, but I was so strict,” she told Vogue. “It was this or nothing.”
SOURCES: PEOPLE.COM; VOGUE.COM; NBCNEWS.COM; NEWS.SKY.COM; NYPOST.COM; PageSix; E News
