Kim Kardashian Revived an Iconic Marilyn Monroe Dress at the 2022 Met Gala

Kim Kardashian kept the whole world waiting for her arrival to the 2022 Met Gala on Monday night, to the point that each and every one of her many family members in attendance had to note that they had no update on “Kimberley”’s whereabouts. Fortunately for everyone—including La La Anthony, who held out for Kardashian, a close friend, as her last interview of the evening as host of Vogue’s red carpet livestream—the 41-year-old reality star didn’t disappoint when she turned up at 9:10 p.m., well after many of the A-listers attendees arrived. Naturally, she did so alongside Pete Davidson, her plus-one for a string of high-profile appearances as of late.

Despite being among the evening’s most highly anticipated guests, Kardashian took a moment to recognize. She had bleached her hair, which was sleeked back into a tight bun, a platinum blonde—the better to match with her clear inspiration for the evening. As rumored by—believe it or not—fans keeping a close eye on the Ripley’s Believe It or Not! museum of Orlando, Kardashian revived the iconic glittering gold dress that Marilyn Monroe wore to sing “Happy Birthday” to then-president John F. Kennedy in 1962. Part of what led them to the scoop was the fact that Kardashian had previously stated that the dress she was hoping to wear couldn’t be tailored. And just three weeks ago, when she first tried it on, it didn’t fit. The fact that she ended up wearing it in the end on Monday night, then, of course occasions a trigger warning. Kardashian reports that she was so committed to wearing the look, she lost around 16 pounds within that space of time to do so. “It was like a role,” she told Anthony. “I don’t think they believed that I was going to do it, and I did it.”

“The idea [for the look] really came to me after the gala in September last year,” Kardashian, who completed the look with jewels by Cartier, told Vogue. “I thought to myself, what would I have done for the American theme if it had not been the Balenciaga look? What’s the most American thing you can think of? And that’s Marilyn Monroe. For me ,the most Marilyn Monroe moment is when she sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to JFK. It was that look.”

Davidson, for his part, didn’t seem to change a thing about himself in preparation for his biggest red carpet to date. He wore a suit and sunglasses, naturally accompanied by a quip: “She didn’t let me wear my propeller hat, but it’s fine.”