Ripley’s Defends Kim Kardashian’s Met Gala Appearance in Marilyn Monroe’s Dress

While Kim Kardashian‘s request to put on Marilyn Monroe’s costume to the 2022 Met Gala was originally denied, the Skims designer did, in actual fact, arrive on the red carpet within the glowing robe. Now, new images are circulating that present earlier than and after pictures of the garment, and there seems to be pulling on the seams and important injury. However, the present proprietor of the costume, Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, maintains that the costume was not in any manner affected or broken on the Met Gala. This comes after artistic director and show artist ChadMichael Morrisette shared earlier than and after images of the design, which he photographed following the ball on the present show again in Hollywood, the place it is going to be via fall 2022. Morrisette’s pictures sparked reactions on Twitter, reigniting the controversy surrounding Kardashian’s choice to put on the historic garment and inflicting a number of folks to demand that Ripley’s take accountability for mishandling the costume.

“From the underside of the Met steps, the place Kim received into the costume, to the highest the place it was returned, the costume was in the identical situation it began in,” mentioned Amanda Joiner, Ripley Entertainment’s vp of licensing and publishing, who oversaw the method of Kardashian’s fittings and look within the costume and was on-site throughout transport from Orlando to New York. Joiner beforehand instructed The Daily Beast that numerous time and thought went into the preservation of the costume. “We principally had many conversations with Kim and her group and put numerous necessities in place with safety and with the dealing with of the costume,” she mentioned. “The costume was by no means with Kim alone. It was at all times with a Ripley’s consultant. We at all times ensured that at any time we felt that the costume was in peril of ripping or we felt uncomfortable about something, we at all times had the power to have the ability to say we [were not] going to proceed with this.”

Kardashian, 41, even turned into a duplicate of the costume for the reception on the Met Gala to keep away from any potential additional injury, after strolling the red carpet within the authentic robe. Nonetheless, it seems that the material was nonetheless severely broken and sequins fell off the garment in some unspecified time in the future, as evidenced by images posted by The Marilyn Monroe Collection on Instagram.

The $12,000 Jean Louis robe was bought by Ripley’s Believe It or Not! from Julien’s Auctions for $4.81 million in November 2016. In 2017, a report written on the costume’s situation acknowledged: “quite a few the seams are pulled and worn. This is no surprise given how delicate the fabric is. There is puckering on the again by the hooks and eyes.” It was initially worn by Marilyn Monroe when she sang “Happy Birthday” to President John F. Kennedy at Madison Square Garden in 1962.

Designer Bob Mackie, who drew the sketch for the unique costume, spoke out towards Kardashian carrying it. “I assumed it was an enormous mistake,” he instructed EW in May. “[Marilyn] was a goddess. . . . She was simply fabulous. Nobody pictures like that. And it was executed for her. It was designed for her. Nobody else must be seen in that costume.”

This is not the one controversy surrounding Kardashian’s Met Gala look. The reality TV star additionally got here underneath fireplace for making feedback about her unhealthy weight-loss plan to suit into the design. Kardashian later defended herself in an interview with The New York Times, referencing actors Christian Bale and Renée Zellweger, who’ve misplaced and gained weight for film roles.

Ahead, scroll to see Twitter reactions to the earlier than and after images, in addition to footage of Kardashian’s controversial look within the costume.