
First, she left her hotel in a dressing gown with barricades set up outside to obscure the view of any waiting paparazzi. In fact, her whole process of getting dressed reads like a highly sophisticated military operation. Given the fragile nature and historical value of the dress, she wasn’t about to take any chances.

The truth is Kardashian only actually wore the original dress for a matter of minutes. Still, orchestrating a style maneuver of this magnitude would require new levels of commitment and planning. Between the impossibly waist-whittled “wet look” Mugler dress she wore in 2019 and the mysterious Balenciaga Zentai-style outfit she donned last year, she’s especially game to go the extra mile for the Met Gala. Kardashian clearly relishes the challenge of a tricky-to-pull-off fashion moment.

“I’m spending the whole day just dyeing my hair, 14 hours straight,” she says laughing. When I speak to the reality TV star and entrepreneur over the phone this past Sunday afternoon, she is in the midst of getting her hair bleached blonde. “For me the most Marilyn Monroe moment is when she sang “Happy Birthday,” to JFK, it was that look.” The instant she stepped foot on the red carpet wearing the infamous glittering dress, her hair platinum blonde and perfectly coiffed, the reference was unmistakable. 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,” says Kardashian. “The idea really came to me after the gala in September last year.

Naturally, the big reveal tonight was nothing short of jaw-dropping. No one loves a Met Gala red carpet surprise more than Kim Kardashian-so it’s no wonder rumors of her dramatic transformation into Marilyn Monroe were swirling 48 hours before the ball.
