– Sparkles, glitter and rays on the red carpet of the Met Gala: Stars celebrate the opening of a new fashion exhibition in New York – and Kim Kardashian tops it all off again.
The sparkling beige dress seems almost plain compared to the many other extravagant robes and suits – but Kim Kardashian provided the highlight of this year’s Met Gala with Marilyn Monroe’s original outfit.
In the dress that Kardashian says Monroe (1926-1962) once wore to a birthday song for then-US President John F. Kennedy in 1962, the reality star walked the red carpet at the star-studded event at New York’s Metropolitan Museum .
Kardashian only wore the original dress, which now belongs to a curio museum chain, to walk down the red carpet and then changed clothes again so as not to damage it, according to the fashion magazine “Vogue”, whose publisher co-organized the gala . Kardashian, who appeared with her new beau, comedian Pete Davidson, with her hair dyed platinum blonde, said she lost around 15 pounds to fit into the gown. “I don’t think they believed I could do it, but I did it,” she said of her weight loss.
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Stars such as Blake Lively, Alicia Keys, Jared Leto, Billie Eilish and Sarah Jessica Parker had previously walked the red carpet on the steps of the Museum in Central Park in Manhattan for more than three hours – cheered by numerous fans who were in rainy weather sometimes waited for hours in front of the museum. Kardashian’s mother, Kris, and four sisters – Kourtney, Khloé, Kylie and Kendall – also attended the gala, which wore a gilded glam dress code, a nod to a late 19th-century US economic boom. “I’m so proud of all her outfits and we all got ready together,” said Kris Jenner.
Often dubbed the “Party of the Year,” the Met Ball is an annual fundraiser for the Metropolitan Museum’s Costume Institute. The annual budget of the institute, which is now named after Vogue boss Anna Wintour, is estimated at several million dollars from the “Costume Institute Benefit”.
History of American Fashion
Because of the pandemic, the gala, which traditionally takes place on the first Monday in May, had to be canceled twice in a row and was then finally made up for in September 2021 – for the opening of the fashion exhibition “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion”. The gala on Monday opened the second part of the exhibition – “In America: An Anthology of Fashion” about the history of American fashion. First Lady Jill Biden also watched the show in the morning. Fashion icon Wintour said it was one of the “most exquisite exhibitions” curator Andrew Bolton has ever worked on.
The gala is a “fantastic meeting of people from culture who celebrate New York, the Met and fashion,” said the Austrian museum director Max Hollein. When it came to fashion, the stars let off steam at the event as usual: Model Gigi Hadid and singer Lizzo appeared in oversized red and black and gold coats respectively. Lizzo played the flute she had brought with her on the red carpet and said: “I feel like a work of art”. Lively – alongside husband Ryan Reynolds – untied her dress to reveal a second one underneath. “This year I was particularly nervous because I’m also the hostess and then you really have to bring it.”
Comedian Amy Schumer – in sunglasses – joked that she’s really only there for the booze; for actor Hugh Jackman, the motive was to “date” with wife Deborra-Lee Furness on the only night of the week that he is not currently on a Broadway stage; and designer Michael Kors raved about a “perfect evening”. Former US Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton appeared at the gala for the first time in 20 years, wearing a red dress embroidered with the names of significant women from US history. New York Mayor Eric Adams wore a jacket with the words “End Gun Violence” written on the back.
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Showing off flowers on her plunging neckline, Eilish revealed that she’s “starting to feel really creative again, and that’s a good sign, things are coming around.” Singer Alicia Keys wore the Manhattan skyline on her dress, Olivia Rodrigo wore purple butterflies in her hair, and Cardi B reportedly wore hundreds of yards of chains and jewelry as her dress. “She’s brave putting it on because it’s so heavy,” said designer Donatella Versace. “Only she can wear it.”
The problems of the world were largely left out on this gala evening. Only briefly during the live stream from the red carpet was a call for donations for Ukraine in the war against Russia. With tech billionaire Elon Musk, who is currently trying to take over the short message service Twitter and who had come with his mother Maye, the complexities of the world arrived at the gala. Musk had explained his takeover plans in the past by saying that freedom of speech was restricted on the platform and that he wanted to change that – and now said: “If everything goes as planned, my goal is to make Twitter as inclusive as possible do it and have it used by as wide a part of the country and the world as possible and that they find it interesting and entertaining and that it makes the world a better place.”
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