Kim Kardashian Met Gala

Though she isn't your average movie star, there's no one better suited than Kim to embody one of Marilyn's sexiest and most infamous moments.

“Marilyn Monroe was the biggest star in the world. “I imagined I might be smaller in some places where she was bigger and bigger in places where she was smaller. And whether we choose to believe it or not, the discourse and impassioned views on either side speak directly to both women's ascendancy in pop culture. “I always thought she was extremely curvy,” Kim said of Marilyn Monroe ahead of the big night. I thought to myself, what would I have done for the American theme if it had not been the Balenciaga look? “In a sense, it’s the original naked dress.

With Kim Kardashian revealing she lost a stone in a few weeks to fit into her Met Gala dress, Laura Hampson says it's a giant step backwards for the body ...

But when it comes to diet culture and the pressure to be slim to be seen as a whole person? “It was this or nothing,” she told the publication, adding that her extreme routine in the run up to the gala included wearing a sauna suit (a suit that retains sweat, often used by athletes to lose weight before a competition), running on the treadmill and completely cutting out “all sugar and carbs”. “I didn’t starve myself, but I was so strict,” she said. When weight loss and an Instagram-perfect body is so entwined into your core being, of course you’re going to do anything you can to look perfect, to fit into the dress. When I was in my early teens, I remember reading about a fad diet Beyoncé had done to lose 14 pounds before a tour. Speaking to US Vogue, the reality star said she wanted to “cry” when she first tried on the dress and it didn’t fit. Kim Kardashian wants us to know that she lost 16 pounds (just over a stone) to fit into her Met Gala dress.

Ripley's Believe It Or Not! shared behind-the-scenes video of Kim Kardashian trying on Marilyn Monroe's dress for the first time ahead of the Met Gala 2022 ...

“Great care was taken to preserve this piece of pop culture history,” wrote the Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! museum on Instagram. “With input from garment conservationists, appraisers, and archivists, the garment’s condition was top priority. Fans can get a close-up look at the gown at the Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! Hollywood location, where it will be on display starting Memorial Day weekend. Shortly after the gala, Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! shared behind-the-scenes footage of Kardashian seeing the dress for the first time.