Its next owner, Martin Zweig, a financier known for predicting the 1987 stock market crash, kept it in a climate-controlled display case in the penthouse on the top floor of the Pierre Hotel . Mr. Zweig died in 2013, and three years later his estate signed a contract with Julien’s Auctions in Beverly Hills, Calif., to sell the dress as part of a wider Monroe auction. With an estimated price of around $2 million, it eventually sold for $4.8 million to Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, who later advertised it as “the most expensive dress in the world!” and kept it in Florida In the vault of the Orlando City Museum.
So how did Kim Kardashian master it?
she asked! seriously. As she recalled in an interview with Vogue, when thinking about the Met Gala’s American fashion theme, she thought, “What’s the most American thing you can think of? That’s Marilyn Monroe.” And for her , Marilyn’s favorite is the skirt. So she went to Ripley’s, which agreed to let her try it, subject to some strict requirements, some charitable donations, and the fact that she was actually able to wear the dress.
Presumably, both sides understand the propaganda power of the combination.
But aren’t Kim Kardashian and Marilyn Monroe very different body types?
It seemed so, but Ms Kardashian said she lost 16 pounds to fit the dress. She still couldn’t close the hidden zipper on her back, so she had to drape a white fur shawl over herself to hide the fact that she had ties on both sides. Also, unlike Monroe, Ms. Kardashian did wear what looked like skim pants under her skirt.
So how did she wear it to the dinner at the Met party?
She didn’t. As soon as she made her way up the steps of the Met, she changed into a knockoff dress.
Has the desired effect been achieved?
how.
First, Ms. Kardashian’s appearance in a Marilyn gown inspires that breathless excitement that accompanies most of what she does, thereby forever linking Ms. Kardashian to her sex symbol celebrity predecessors. (This particular ancestor suffered a tragic end shortly after wearing the dress, so it may have some rather complicated meanings that most people don’t seem to have thought of.)
Before long, however, there was a backlash: At a time when health and wellness was more important than a crash diet, she lost weight desperately, and believed a costume that symbolized a classic moment in political and pop culture history should be worn as a party stunt.