A real performance. It’s been more than fifteen years since Kim Kardashian exploded into the world people and created a real empire with her mother and her sisters, making her an icon of the 2010s and now 2020. The one who celebrates her 43rd birthday this October 21 is a reality TV heroine, businesswoman, lawyer, stylist and ambassador of a type of women which completely broke the codes of the 2000s : a luscious woman from head to toe who has put the skinny jean twig in the closet… A mermaid with brown hair, dark skin and a strong character.
The emergence of the “Kardashian model” recalls the birth from another American icon, who, if her journey was different, also invented her character to stand out from the competition, also becoming a legend of her time by creating her myth: Marilyn Monroe. When the theme of the Met Gala in 2022, “Gilded Glamour” (the American golden age), imposed itself on Kim Kardashian, what could be more logical than to ask to wear one of the most legendary dresses that Marilyn has worn: the one in which she sang “Happy Birthday” to President Kennedy, in 1962.
Marilyn et John… et Kim
“What’s more American than Marilyn Monroe singing ‘happy birthday’ to John Kennedy?” this is what Kim Kardashian explains to the camera in season 2 of her series Les Kardashian, three episodes of which tell the epic story the star went through to have the right to wear the dress of her idol. Decorated with more than 6000 hand-sewn crystals by the stylist Jean Louisthis iconic dress worn by Marilyn Monroe hit the headlines in the early sixties.
Madly in love with John F. KennedyMarilyn Monroe, frustrated at being only one of Jackie Kennedy’s husband’s mistresses, decided to strike hard on the occasion of the 45th birthday of the President of the United States what 19 May 1962, three months before her death and six before that of her lover. Wearing this tight dress almost sewn on it and a fur stole, she walks onto the stage of Madison Square Garden to whisper a “Happy birthday mister president” of an anthology sensuality to John F. Kennedy, which will leave no room for doubt about the reality of their relationship.
The most expensive dress in the world on Kim Kardashian’s back
Bought 12 000 dollars by Marilyn Monroe at the time, the dress was sold several times before being acquired at auction in 2016 for $4.8 million by Ripley’s Believe It or Not, pop culture museum located in Florida. It is in this breathtaking outfit that Kim Kardashian wanted to appear on the Met Gala red carpet on May 2, 2022, determined as ever to get inside, while the fragility of the garment in no way guaranteed the success of the operation.
© Action Press / Bestimage
Very hesitant about the idea of lending the most expensive dress in the world to Kim Kardashian, the museum initially refused the proposal. But that’s without counting on Kim’s agent, her mother Kris Jenner, who can’t resist anything. This one negotiated fiercely on the phone with the ownersunder the eyes of an overexcited Kim who was screaming nearby “I will pay. Everything”, as she tells it in season 2 of the series.
In order to convince the owners of the legendary outfit, Kim Kardashian gets a replica made to try it out and thus be sure that its measurements will allow it to fit into the original room without damaging it. After a diet and drastic sports sessions, the star, relieved of 4 and a half kilos, slips into the copy without any problem. Not completely convinced, Ripley’s Museum still asks her to travel to Orlando, Florida to try on the original dress to be sure that she fits in it before sending it to him.
⋙ Platinum blondes, from Marylin Monroe to Kim Kardashian
Kim Kardashian’s butt almost blew it
During the fitting, the tension mount. Filmed by the cameras of his series, Les KardashianKim cannot hide her anguish, she who insisted and worked so hard to be able to fit into this dress and wear it at the Met Gala, having absolutely no plan B planned. Praying for the dress to rise all the way to the top, the star encounters difficulty when to pass his legendary buttocks there. “It’s hard because I can’t wiggle around in the dress. It has to go on in one go.”she comments to the camera.
Without squirming but by tucking in the buttocks and thanks to “a helping hand” from her assistant, the miracle happens: the dress fits and Kim Kardashian is very moved to see that her efforts have paid off. Only problem: the outfit does not close at the backrevealing all the same a small part of her buttocks but a sheath from its SKIMS brand, matching the color of the dress will do the trick and neither seen nor known, the deal is done!
Kim Kardashian, more powerful than Marilyn Monroe
Until the fateful day of the gala, Kim Kardashian decides to continue diet and sport (with sweat suit) so as not to gain a gram and even lose 3 kilos more : “It’s tiring but it’s like an actor in the cinema. It’s as if I were going to play Marilyn Monroe” she explains. However, there are other obstacles to overcome: the dress is immensely fragile and there is no question of wearing it in the middle of a crowd or sitting with it in a car.
Not a single greasy stain should mark the outfit, not a crystal must fall. The trick is perfect: Kim Kardashian will go to the Met in a bathrobe, with hair and makeup, and will change upon arrival, in a fitting room near the red carpet. She will only stay ten minutes in her outfit on Pete Davidson’s arm, time to take a few photos and go up the steps. Upstairs, this is the replica of the dress that Kanye West’s ex will put on to continue the evening without risking damaging the original.
Obviously criticized for taking the dress out of the museum and accused by some of having damaged the crystals of the legendary outfit, Kim Kardashian was defended by the Ripley Museum which ensured that the star “did not cause any damage”. Raised to the rank of icon of the American pop culture industry, just like her idol, Kim Kardashian, however, has nothing to do with the one who has known practically nothing but depression and loneliness. Surrounded by her brothers and sisters, managed by her mother and at the head of several businesses, Kim represents much more than the “Marilyn of the 2000s”. So as the latter would say: Happy birthday Miss Kardashian”…
Photo credits: Zuma Press / Bestimage
2023-10-22 00:02:52
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