A US museum has denied claims that an iconic Marilyn Monroe gown was left damaged after Kim Kardashian wore it at the Met Gala last month.
Recent images appear to show stretched fabric and missing crystals from the dress, according to Monroe historians. However, the gown’s owner, Ripley’s Believe It or Not, says a “calculated risk” was made in allowing the dress to be worn and it was not damaged “in any way”.
Scott Fortner, who has curated his own private collection of Marilyn Monroe artifacts, posted photos online earlier this week that he said showed “significant” damage after it was loaned to the reality TV star.
Additional images have now been shared online by author, Darrell Rooney, purportedly showing damage to the gown’s shoulder straps.
Ripley’s, Believe It or Not, was widely criticized for allowing the TV star to wear the fragile gown. However, the museum rejected the damage claims.
“From the bottom of the Met steps, where Kim got into the dress, to the top where it was returned, the dress was in the same condition it started in,” Amanda Joiner, Ripley’s vice-president of publishing and licensing, said in a statement.
Ripley’s said that a condition report from 2017 stated “a number of the seams are pulled and worn. This is not surprising given how delicate the material is. There is puckering at the back by the hooks and eyes”.
Monroe wore it when she sang Happy Birthday to President Kennedy in 1962. Ripley’s bought the dress for $4.8m in 2016, setting a Guinness World Record for the most expensive dress sold at auction. It is now estimated to be worth more than $10m, the museum says.
Adorned with more than 6,000 hand-sewn crystals, the gown was designed by lauded French costume designer, Jean Louis. It was so tight Marilyn Monroe reportedly had to be sewn into it.
Mr. Fortner called the decision by Ripley’s to allow Kim Kardashian to wear the dress “irresponsible” and motivated by “publicity”.
“When you buy something of such significance, you really need to stick to your word to protect and preserve it… and clearly that didn’t happen,” Mr. Fortner told the local media.
“This is a significant piece of American culture, celebrity culture, political culture – it’s probably the most famous gown in the world and definitely the most expensive. So why they would allow it to be worn is really the question”.
Mr. Fortner
Kardashian wore it on the Met Gala red carpet, then changed into a replica for the rest of the evening. She teamed it with a fur stole to hide the back of the dress because the zipper would not do up. She has previously said she wore the dress for a matter of minutes and did not sit down in it. But after her red carpet appearance, she was accused of sending a damaging message about extreme dieting, saying she had lost 1st 2lb (7.3kg) in three weeks to fit into the gown.
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