Textile Conservator talks about the Kim Kardashian Met Gala Dress and wearing historic dress 

Kim risked the safety of the historical dress just to prove to the world that Marilyn wore it *waaaay better*

The Kardashians continue to prove that money cannot buy class, manners, morals, respect, character, common sense, trust, patience, love, or integrity

Marilyn Monroe rose to stardom out of trauma and poverty - an actual self-made person. She suffered through a great deal of hardship including infertility, addiction, suicide attempts, child sexual abuse, sexual assault as an adult, sexism, and constant intrusion into her life by the media. Her death is still sensationalized. She is widely misunderstood, and she is still objectified and commodified to this day. Her legacy deserves more respect. Kim wants to be, I believe, regarded as the next Marilyn and is trying to create parallels between herself and Monroe by the use of the dress. But she can't be.

This would’ve been an absolute slay if she got the same Dress remade for her body and skin tone and an amazing wig

Not to mention, Ripley’s also gifted Kim a piece of Marilyn’s *hair* 😔 If that doesn’t scream disrespect and commodification of her body and legacy I don’t know what else does 💔

She wore an iconic dress and made it look cheap.

I was already rolling my eyes at Kim wearing the dress in the first place but to see that video of them trying to SQUEEZE her into that dress, I would’ve stopped it right there, like, “YOU’RE NOT THE SAME SIZE/SHAPE as this woman, this dress was made for HER!” I loved how you put so much emphasis on the historical value and how the dress was specifically made for Ms. Monroe. You’re right, people are going to start trying to “Kim” with historical pieces, so sad. I love seeing people in recreated pieces, it’s so risky to wear original pieces without knowing the responsibility that comes with it 😭😫

Kim wearing Marilyn's dress was definitely a huge moment on social media lately, but more people need to hear and know about Emma Chamberlain wearing the stolen Indian royalty's necklace.

By being worn by someone other than Marilyn, the dress has lost its mystique. It doesn’t matter if it was Kim Kardashian or anyone else. It is sort of like painting a moustache on the Mona Lisa. Sure it is the same painting, but it has been forever altered and no one will ever look at it the same way again.

Kim came in with the AUDACITY. She really took a dead woman's iconic dress and made it about herself, like a vulture. She got what she wanted tho, everybody talking about it. She's a beautiful woman but to me, aesthetically, that dress was a big miss for her. It didn't hug her body like Marilyn's because it was made for Marilyn and not her. It wasn't the right tone on her skin either, and it ended up just looking like an ill-fitting, bedazzled, old dress. She would have looked incredible if she had the concept of that dress remade perfectly for her, but then authenticity isn't really one of her strong points. This is like, the cattiest comment I've ever made, but I stand by it.

What was so repulsive about this was that KK was so proud of ruining Marilyn’s gown. It was like a feather in her cap. She thought that her destruction was admirable, this is the sickness of this woman.

Marilyn's dress is an historical garment that there is only one of. Wearing vintage dresses that were mass produced is a completely different thing, even if they are very old or fragile. Even all the period pieces worn in TV and movies, they don't have the same significance. It is the culture around the dress that is part of it's value. Americans know the story of that dress, it is embedded in our history and pop culture. Even a vintage one-of-a-kind designer piece (something from the Balmain archives, for example) is unequivalent.

As a museum director, with 25% of our collections being textiles, this really bothered me. I told my husband it was so irresponsible for Ridley’s to let her wear it, and that even if she was so careful, it would still damage the piece. His response was, “but it get’s them press, and they don’t care about the historical significance.” Sadly, I think that’s true. Ugh!

As a museum professional, I agree that this was a poor decision. think it’s arrogant that the Kardashians think they could do this but not surprising. From a personal perspective, Marilyn had such an unusual extreme hour glass figure and this dress was made just for her - it could never look right on anyone else

When grandmother passed away, my aunt found a christening gown from the 1920’2. Grandmother had kept it in the garage. Auntie lowered the garment into a basin of Woolite water, and poof! It disintegrated in the her hands! The textile expert here knows that they have to be treated gently!

This dress was so amazing because it was the exact color of Monroe’s skin which made her look nude while wearing it and that of course was the point of the garment!

The damage to the dress just from fitters trying to put the dress on Kim, was disastrous. Kim lowered the value of the dress. It was designed for Marilyn Monroe.

I agree with you so wholeheartedly- I actually donated some of my great grandmother’s beautiful handmade 1920’s era dresses to fashion history museums to preserve and respect the craftsmanship. It’s art. It’s history.

I'm not a textile conservator, and it hurt my heart watching that crew of people trying to squeeze her into an historical dress that was clearly too small for her, and had been custom made for someone with a completely different body type. I was cringing just thinking about the stretching and pulling and straining that the fabric was going through at that point. If Ripley's hasn't been conserving the dress properly, that would have made it even easier for it to be damaged during her fittings, and during the time she wore it on the red carpet (even if it was for a short time). I think she chose this event to wear this dress specifically because it didn't fit the theme of this year's Gala. She knew she would stand out from everyone else, she knew it would be a viral moment, and we all know that the Kardashians HAVE to be the stars of any event they attend. God forbid the spotlight lands on someone else. 🙄

Bottom line: *No one* should've been able to wear this dress because it belongs in a museum (Indiana Jones voice). It's literally a piece of history. And clothes are very fragile. Every second it was worn it was literally deteriorating. All the garments the Met has in its collection cannot be worn, ever. The Met Gala is literally to raise money for their costume & garment department- clothes that can never be worn. It has nothing to do with who wore it; it's that someone wore it at all.

I totally agree with you. This is a timeless and priceless piece. Maybe she donated some huge amount of money to wear it. These celebrities need to leave their own legacy and leave history alone, Marilyn had her moment. I agree that it was for Marilyn and that’s it.

I can't believe this iconic dress was in a Ripley's museum and not in a museum that has the resources/staff to preserve the dress. Also, why on earth did that museum allow Kim K to wear it? How much did she offer them?

I’ve been thinking about this a lot as well - my reaction was wait, what? - I found it hard to believe that a 60 year old dress worn by a golden age icon was available at any price to a 21st-century influencer. I am so concerned about the impact of that use on that piece of history.

I was surprised Kim was allowed to wear the dress,she made the dress look plain, Marilyn made it look a work of art!!!!!!!🇬🇧☺️

The interesting thing for me is how much a dress can look so amazingly hot on one person and the exact same dress can look so boringly mundane on another another It says a lot about cut and colour

Just because someone can do something, doesn't mean they should. Her ego and entitlement is obscene and Ripley's should never have allowed it AND if Kim needed to starve herself in order to 'almost' fit into it then it isn't for her AND is incredibly damaging to her followers who will think it's ok to starve to get into a dress.

the Marilyn dress was created as akin to a second skin for the original wearer, having been almost imbued with the wearer’s essence. when worn by another other than intended, essentially they have degraded the value of the gown- materially and culturally. I want to know if it ever crossed Kim’s mind, or if anyone else bothered to ask her, whether it was disrespectful to do so.

It’s just so sad to see marylin constantly being disrespected even in the afterlife.

My reaction was a bit like yours, ‘wait a second, isn’t the theme…? How does that even make sense?’ Then I began to get angrier and angrier thinking about the ego involved and the irony of it being worn in benefit to the costume conservation department!!! It’s like the biggest slap in the face to the people you are there to support! It’s one of the most truly ignorant and selfish, not to mention totally uninspired things that I have seen in some time. But anything for the likes I guess… what an a$$

This dress was made for Ms. Marilyn Monroe. It is a one of a kind piece of art. It should be on display as such. It was an iconic moment in time and should never have been taken out and wore by anyone.

In a few years we’re liable to hear that Marilyn Monroe’s Happy Birthday dress fell apart and of course beyond repair since it was made from soufflé silk, a fabric that’s not even made anymore. Very sad this dress was not respected. Very sad that Kim changed the history of this dress. Very sad that Ripley’s was more interested in the money than the integrity of the dress proving they are not a legitimate museum.

The only positive thing to come out of this, if you can call it positive, is that everyone finally got to see what the dress clearly looks like in color under the lights. Prior to that we only saw the 1962 b/w photos of Marilyn wearing it and the fortunate few who got to see it when it was on display in the museum. This was the first time everyone got to properly see it for what it was.

Marilyn herself did say she wanted the dress to be "reserved and kept well", the should have thought on respecting her wish

OMG that shot of the fitters trying to force fit the dress. I can’t imagine the damage to this garment. However, it led me to your channel for which I’m grateful.

The fact that the Kardashians were invited to a “Gilded Age” gala was actually a serious burn to them; a key part of the Gilded Age was that “New Money” doesn’t carry with it class or prestige. It is there for the “real” classy people to laugh at them.

aside from the physical damage, kim damaged the history and memory of that dress. You can argue she added to it. And she did...but its not a historically significant moment. It was a horribly styled, terribly fitted off theme red carpet look at one of the worst met gala carpets In years. Thats not history, thats the barely even crossing the line into pop culture. The argument being made for the conservation is far more historically significant than the actual moment it was worn. So it did not add anything to the actual garment. It only took away. Marilyn was the last person to wear that dress. Her perfume, her sweat, her skin cells. It had pieces of her still on it. Not just her but probably the Kennedy's too. It sounds a bit morbid but not only did kim force her own dna over Marilyn's for her vanity project but she tainted the memory of the dress. She stole that part of the history of the dress away from Marilyn, to be the last person to wear it. She had the dress sewn onto her body. Designed to match her skin tone. She wanted to make it so that nobody but her could ever truly wear the dress even if they came to own it. She would be the one and only person to on such an iconic day. Her wishes were not respected and the arguement should end there. Kim wore a replica. She had one that could have been perfectly tailored to her skin tone and dimensions. One that looked better. One that got her the engagement and got across whatever intentions she says she had. One that paid tribute instead of destroying piece of Marilyn's legacy. But she went out of her way to STILL get the original. And not only that but a second dress to the after party. Its crystal clear she had no regard for anything but to say she wore that dress. She literally tore down part of another, far more deserving woman's legacy just to have her 5 minutes of fame. People will no longer talk about the moment Marilyn wore it, the moment that mattered. But instead what kim has done will be remembered. And the worst part is that's exactly what she wanted.

I agree with your assessment, and my opinion is that Kim displayed the height of insensitivity, egoism, disrespect, and tasteless entitlement. Many of the antique dresses were so elegant, and really ought to be preserved. And, something that is designed for a particular person is probably best worn by that person. Imagine someone pulling Ginger Rogers' famous feather dress that she wore in Top Hat out of the museum and having a spin in it - that too, would be very sad and unethical.

It is well known that Marilyn knew what kind of historical significance it would be for her to sing Happy Birthday to JFK, especially considering they were having an affair, so she wanted a gown that would be just as historical in it's own right. When she called Jean Louis to commission her custom gown she said on the phone "I want you to design a truly historical dress, a dazzling dress that's one of a kind, a dress that only Marilyn Monroe could ever wear." It is well known Marilyn wanted to be the only person to wear that dress. If you're going to claim to be showing respect for Marilyn Monroe then maybe you should start by being respectful?? Kim knows the whole purpose of a custom gown is to have something no one else has. You can't get anymore custom than Marilyn's Happy Birthday Mr President gown, the dress was literally assembled on her naked body, she was sown into the dress, it's pretty much an impression of her actual body, as close to a whole body cast of Marilyn as we will ever have. Kim couldn't even walk in it, she knows how many steps are at the MET, she risked ruining a historical piece of art for her ego. It's apparent how big Kim Kardashian's ego is for even thinking she is in the same league as Marilyn Monroe... Wrong on every level

Also that video of them forcibly pulling it on her body made my jaw drop... that woman was using all her stregth to get it over Kim's hips. It must've put enormous pressure on the seams and the fabric itself.

Honestly I can’t believe there are people that think that her wearing the icon, Marilyn Monroes dress was OK.

She craves more attention than any other famous person to have ever lived. THAT’S her true legacy.

As a lifelong Marilyn Monroe fan, the horror that I was filled with watching the clip on here of them trying to pull the gown up on her an rubbing their hands up it trying to move it upwards. You can literally see damage happening in front of your eyes. Designer Jean Louis would be turning in his grave.

Let's not forget, this was Marilyn's "nude illusion" dress, the color is in her skin tone! The sheer (pun intended) ignorance of wearing a dress of another skin tone made for that original individual is just...WOW. Talk about cultural appropriation 🤣🤣🤣

I've never been a big fan of the Met Gala so I've only seen clips from it and photographs of costumes that people have worn in the past I'm actually glad to have stumbled upon your site here in spite of the unfortunate scenario that brought me to it as an absolute non-fan of the Kardashians in any way. But the preservation of historic garments is something I am interested in and anybody that found pleasure in seeing Kim Kardashian wearing this original dress clearly has no sense of historic preservation. She could have worn the duplicate and nobody would have even known the difference.

It’s essentially an art piece. A historical art piece. And I don’t think people are understanding that. Like imagine if someone took an original Picasso painting and wore it on the red carpet.

I felt so sad that history appears to be for sale. No doubt Ripleys have gained enormous coverage and notoriety through giving permission for this to happen. I hope it was worth destroying the uniqueness of an iconic moment and dress in history.

I really enjoyed this and totally agree with your point of view. Historical pieces should be placed in museums so us regular people can admire and not let these "celebrities" take advantage of their celebrity to exploit such historical pieces.

Thank you for bringing awareness to this issue and using your knowledge and expertise to educate all of us! 💗 I work in the fashion industry and have a profound respect for the history of fashion and preserving that history to inspire and educate others for decades to come.

I actually heard Kim speak about the dress. Even the 16 pound weight loss was not enough because of the size of her famous derrière. They had to leave it open and tie it above where the zipper ended in order to keep it closed at the back. That’s the reason for the fur. So she never actually fit into the garment and if you see how they put it on her, you can imagine there would be some pulling on it and the weave the fabric. The dress also lost its appeal as it did not match the skin tone of Kim but purposely matched Monroe’s skin tone: making it look as though she were nude.

The minute I saw Kim in the gown I thought "this must be a reproduction." When I saw that it was the original I thought "she should not be wearing this dress. It's part of history. How are they letting her do this?" You wouldn't let someone walk around with the Mona Lisa. Why are they letting her sweat in this dress?"

I cried. Just brought back many emotions,.for many reasons. I truly enjoyed your video and learned so much myself! Thank you, for conserving our history, for all to enjoy. Bless you!

Thank you so much for discussing this :)

I’m a librarian, which overlaps with collection management and conservation, and it’s really interesting to deal with questions of “Oh just digitize it,” as a means of preservation. Information media, especially older information media, is fragile and if not maintained correctly can deteriorate (or will in spite of maintenance). Books especially can become damaged in the course of scanning. There’s an interesting thing to consider that’s very individual of the value of the media as an artifact vs the value of the information it contains. In this case, I agree that the dress is valuable as an artifact, not a functional dress.

I agree with you about the additional layer of offense coming from Kim NOT BEING ON THEME with the dress, as it's something I was INCREDIBLY frustrated with regarding all the other celebrity looks from the red carpet. "The Gilded Age" is such an iconic and inspiring time for fashion, and that Kim not only decided to wear the gown to the event but THIS SPECIFIC EVENT felt outrageous (in the most derogatory meaning of the word).

Great job explaining the specific ways that damage occurs. I hope you do more videos on the conservation aspects as you feel comfortable doing so. Good luck with your studies and your upcoming moves!

Ripley’s saw a way to get “free” publicity and ran with it. This was purely a business decision with no regard to the historical significance of the dress. Also I highly doubt that this dress carries the same monetary value it had before the Met Gala. Also - Marilyn wore it better.

The dress was designed to make Marilyn look 'nude' and as she famously said, she wants to look 'blonde all over'. This dress matched her skin tone to achieve just that. Kim completely missed the point of the dress. It didn't match her skin tone and definitely didn't look 'nude' nor 'blonde all over'. Major fail and totally lost the meaning of the clever art and aesthetic.

I thought it was slightly presumptuous of Kim and Ripley's to suggest Kim is of the same caliber of Marilyn. Seeing Marilyn in that dress 50 years later (a la Rita Moreno at the Oscars) would've been incredible. I wouldn't care if she re-wore the dress to shreds. But... yeah Kim in this dress was just a little... umm... tacky? (that's being generous) It didn't even look nice on her.... but that's just me! Love that you covered this!! :)

So glad I found this channel, I'm on a crusade this summer to give my son ideas for careers and this is just in time:)

Just found your channel. Love your passion and knowledge on such an interesting historical study!

I was also surprised Ripley's actually owns this dress. I just assumed such an iconic piece would've been displayed to the public in some kind of official museum due to its historical significance and place in pop culture history.

I agree wholeheartedly. Kim shouldn’t have worn the dress, for many reasons. It was entitled. It was disrespectful. It wasn’t the theme.

You've got a new follower here and Instagram. Looking forward to your next post. All the best!

Id just like to say that i love informative videos like this. Also, ive lost count how many time you said "granted" 😅

Note: There is a statement that Marilyn Monroe said that the dress was made for her herself and no one else. 😊

I thought the same. Why didn’t she have a replica made, one that would perfectly fit her. Plus, it also invites comparison, and Marilyn wins.

I'm a museum collections manager and I couldn't agree more with everything you said. I cringe every time I watch Kim Kardashian be squeezed into that dress! Thank you for creating this video.

Thank you for sharing your knowledge

Kim wearing that dress is just simply a cheap publicity stint. Why is everyone so fascinated by her? It fuels her ego, maybe we have to learn to ignore her and maybe she will go away. Ethically, it’s a museum piece and that it’s what it should be - a museum piece and not worn to a themed party (especially when the dress does not even fit into the said theme). One more thing, it was not a movie costume nor just a couture dress from a famous designer. It was a personal dress made especially for the wearer! It was created for the wearer and custom made for her using the fabric that matched the original owner/wearer’s skin tone and was even stitched on for a final fit and parade. Shame on people who cannot respect that. Sigh….

I think this was a iconic dress for Marilyn Monroe ONLY. The younger Kim crowd will not associate it with Marilyn now because they don’t know the history. They only know the present times. It’s a shame. Shame on you Kim!

Fascinating to listen to your perspective on this, thanks. Best wishes on your move and post graduate work. Looking forward to more from you in the future.

It'd be cool to see replicas of vintage dresses with modern fabric. I can see it on Paris fashion week sometime soon

Actually, Kim could have had any of the worlds top designers create a dress inspired by the marylin dress. It would have been a lot more interesting. I think this was a missed opportunity to create fashion history. Because ultimately the dress didnt look great . And Kim could have looked amazing in something created for her exact body. Just look at her Mugler Look for the Met Gala a few years ago. that was truly iconic . And no one else would look as good in that dress because it was designed for Kim’s very unique measurements.

Not only unethical, but disgraceful that a "Museum" would risk the integrity of such an item by letting anyone touch it without gloves on, let alone wear it. (And that ghastly woman looked dreadful in it.)

I love, love what you do! I love the historical clothing in general just amazing. The historical clothing are so well mad compared to now. Thank you for sharing. 🙏🙏🙏❤️

5:08 thank you for this info, I watched other costumer youtubers in MM case but they didn't mention abt indigenous ppl wearing museum textiles

This is why I love the V&A in London. They have been championing historic garments for decades and decades and have led the way. If you live in the UK it's well worth a visit.

Maybe the organizers of the Met Gala should take some accountability as well. They need to set clear guidelines of what is acceptable to wear to the event. Because Kim wearing this particular dress to me, defeat the purpose of the event

I totally side with you and think your line of argument is so reasonable!! And love this discussion, as a fan of fashion and sewing and craft and history ❤️

I'm glad you talked about this. Because I'm into looking historical/vintage fashion and details. So I'm happy the RU-vid traffic got you out in the public eye.

Billie Eilish wore a very in-theme designed gown that also publicized recycling with its being composed of "dead-stock" fabrics and remnants. I would have been more impressed with Kim Kardashian had she bought and donated the original dress to the Met while wearing only its replica to the Gala thus advertising her donation to posterity. Unfortunately while Kim may be a wonderful daughter, sister, aunt, mother and even person (anything is possible), this behavior emphasized a need for self-promotion for Kim and her family that is put above all other considerations.

Marilyn's dress is very different from other vintage clothing . It is a very important in our collective consciousness and basically a national treasure. In addition to that, the dress did not even fit Kim and had to be laced up in back. Isn't there a risk the dress could rip if it's too small? She also had a copy made that actually fit her. Why not just wear the copy? Maybe it wouldn't bring even more attention to a woman who seemingly cannot get enough?

awesome video. PERIOD.

I think these garments should be preserved and in a museum for as long as possible.

I am beyond belief that this woman was allowed to even touch Marilyn Monroe’s dress, yet wear it. NOBODY should wear her clothes, so disrespectful.

I absolutely love Marilyn and this made me absolutely livid! Kim honestly thinks she is in the same realm as Marilyn, that shehad the right to wear her dress... no one will be talking about her in 60 years. A selfish and irresponsible act. She could have ruined it!!

Such an interesting video. I'd love to see a roundtable of similar creators discussing this topic.

I agree whole heartedly. This is an incredibly unique dress, that’s also very old. I’d assume as the fabric used ages, it becomes weaker and more brittle. Even if the dress wasn’t torn, I’m sure there was stress put on the fabric. Watching them squeeze her into the dress made me cringe. We want to preserve these garments so they can be enjoyed for generations.

I felt that letting Kim wear the dress showed favouritism and backed up the concept that money can get people anything. Kim was not allowed to wear it because she made the dress or had a personal attachment and the only "reason" seems to be her money/fame.

Can’t even find the words! 1. Ripley’s owns THIS dress! 2. Kim wore it! 3. ALL the Kardashians are idiots. 4. Anna Wintour, Shame on you for inviting the clan and clearing their design choices.

So great to know people like you exist. These objects of beauty need to be treated with respect. People don’t understand these pieces are part of telling our history as a people.

I totally agree, an iconic vintage garment, such as this one, should be preserved in an exhibit of the late legends. So SAD today's rich and famous can buy, wear and tear up one of the most spectacular moments sown into the fabric of this country 💋

Museums preserve originals while displaying replicas all the time. The vast majority of people never know the difference. The same could have been accomplished here in a way that brings attention to this iconic dress while preserving it at the same time. Ripley had no business allowing her to wear it.

No matter how much weight Kim loses, her behind and hips are in a completely different solar system than Marilyn. They could not zip it so they laced it. Ripley keeps it in a case on what looks to be a lit up mannequin form so you can see the dress better. I'm not sure why it's at Ripleys either. Netflix paid 4 million dollars to "rent" the dress to wear it in the red carpet. Netflix premiered their new Documentary on Marilyn just a week or so ago and this was what Netflix needed to get subscribers. Kim did not pay. Considering they paid almost the price Ripleys paid to buy it tells you something. Sorry but if I see Kim slinking down a red carpet in one of the original Dorothy dresses from Wizard of Oz I think I'll lose it.

Marilyn Monroe requested that no one else was given permission to wear the dress ever. The dress should not have been worn again. Period.

👏👏 grateful for a new generation Of conservators

As someone else pointed out, she could have had a reproduction made in her skin tone and size and it would have been stunning. As it is, she looked cheap and silly, wearing a dress that would never fit her, and didn't match. The dress was stressed to put it on her and she kept stepping on it. She damaged a part of American history and made herself look selfish, presumptuous and stupid! A missed opportunity to call attention to American history and garment preservation.

Aside from the fact that Kim did not deserve to wear the dress of an absolute Hollywood icon, all your points about conserving the dress ran through my head, as well. I was stressed out wearing a dress that my FIL wanted me to wear for an antique car tour that belonged to my husband's grandmother (a 1940's dress). It wasn't a famous or particularly historic dress, but it was special to the family. But for Kim to wear the Marilyn dress . . . No. And yeah!!! What a super fun theme that most people didn't take advantage of!! I would have loved to create a Gilded Age look!!! What an opportunity!

I agree with you and what you've said. I also wish that you had mentioned about what they did to the back of it. Even with the weight loss, Kim could not fit in the dress so they opened up the back of it to fit her in it. There are pictures to corroborate this. Picking apart the dress in order to fit someone in it even if it's going to be stitched back together changes the garment entirely. There is 2022 stitching on that historic dress unless they somehow were able to salvage and stitch the dress back together with its own thread.... I mean- I just... I can't.

Spot on!