Photo: Instagram
He believes the dress was made for Marilyn Monroe.
By Sanika Nalgirkar — Written on May 17, 2022
It has been over two weeks since Kim Kardashian’s appearance in Marilyn Monroe’s iconic gown at the Met Gala but discussions about the dress are still ablaze on social media.
The dress was worn by Monroe on JFK's 45th birthday in 1962 when she gave one of her most iconic performances singing 'Happy Birthday' to the president with whom she was rumored to be having an affiar.
Kardashian's much-talked-about Met Gala appearance in the dress has stirred a debate with some fans admiring her for paying tribute to Monroe, while many others thought it was a bad decision on Kardashian's part.
Among those is a man who was involved in the making of the original dress, Bob Mackie.
Bob Mackie says it was a ‘big mistake’ for Kim Kardashian to wear Marilyn Monroe’s dress.
Bob Mackie is a fashion designer who sketched Monroe’s gown in his early career when he was an assistant for Jean Louis, the designer of the dress.
Upon seeing Kardashian wearing the iconic dress to the Met Gala, he had some comments.
Mackie disapproved of Kardashian wearing the dress. In an interview with Alicia Malone on the fashion interview series, ‘Follow The Thread’, Mackie opened up about his opinions about the dress.
"I thought it was a big mistake," he said. As many people previously worried that wearing the dress can damage it, Mackie also agreed to that.
In addition, he believed that the skintight dress was made specifically for Monroe.
Mackie thought no one else can pull it off as well as Monroe.
He said, "[Marilyn] was a goddess. A crazy goddess, but a goddess. She was just fabulous. Nobody photographs like that. And it was done for her. It was designed for her. Nobody else should be seen in that dress."
Alicia Malone also spoke out and thought Kim Kardashian shouldn’t have worn Marilyn Monroe’s dress.
While speaking with Mackie, Alicia Malone, the host of the series, had similar thoughts about Kardashian.
"There are all the issues with the actual preservation of the dress and things like oxygen can affect a dress," she said.
"Usually, these outfits are kept very much in controlled environments and we see that with the Met. The Costume Institute is so careful about how they are handling these historic items…I personally wish she wore a replica instead of the real thing."
She further touched on the topic of the similarities between Monroe and Kardashian.
Malone mentioned that both women had the power to create certain movements and change standards.
“They are women who have changed the ideal beauty of the moment. Marilyn Monroe, when she came in her curves became very popular during the 1950s,” she said.
“And we see a lot of young women vying to look like Kim Kardashian. For better or worse, she's changed the ideal body shape for women."
She further mentioned how Kardashian has changed the history and etched her name onto the dress after the Met Gala.
“I don't know what Kim Kardashian sees in Marilyn herself or how much she knows about her history,” she said.
“But definitely now, Kim will be tied to that dress as Marilyn is — so it'll be the Marilyn Monroe dress that Kim Kardashian also wore to the Met Gala."
Sanika Nalgirkar is a writer who covers entertainment & news, lifestyle, and pop culture topics.