Kim Kardashian accused of doing ‘permanent damage’ to Marilyn Monroe’s dress

The celebrity faces backlash after attending the Met Gala last month sporting the gown in which Monroe serenaded President Kennedy

A Marilyn Monroe collector has claimed that “permanent damage” has been inflicted by Kim Kardashian on the iconic dress Monroe 

The gown was worn by Monroe during her famous 1962 performance of Happy Birthday to US president John F Kennedy.

It was "irresponsible" to loan an iconic gown once worn by Marilyn Monroe to Kim Kardashian for the Met Gala, a collector has said.

But some of the attention turned to criticism after collector Scott Fortner posted photos online appearing to show damage to the gown, which has since been returned to Ripley's Believe It or Not!.

The skin-tight gown is adorned with more than 6,000 crystals and was hand-sewn by costumier Jean Louis.

"It's the most famous dress in the world." The historian, who has curated his own private collection of Monroe artifacts, said the gown was now "irreparable" as it was no longer possible to purchase the fabric it was made from.

The International Council of Museums commented that “historic garments should not be worn by anybody, public or private figures”.

While the dress was the property of a private collector its heritage, they continued, “must be understood as belonging to humanity” and the artefact “kept preserved for future generations”.  

The dress has been kept in a temperature-controlled environment since the tourist attraction bought it in 2016. It had not been worn by anyone between Monroe and Kardashian.

Kardashian defended her sartorial decision. “I’m extremely respectful to the dress and what it means to American history,” she said. “I would never want to sit in it or eat in it or have any risk of any damage to it, and I won’t be wearing the kind of body makeup I usually do.” 

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