Met Gala 2022: Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson pose together

Kim Kardashian took to the Met Gala red carpet last year wearing none other than Marilyn Monroe’s “Happy Birthday, Mr President” dress.

The dress was initially designed six decades before Kardashian sported it at last year’s event.

Legendary designer Bob Mackie was the mastermind behind it, with the help of Hollywood designer Jean Louis.

Monroe reportedly paid $1,440 for the dress at the time, according to Vintage News, and the actor even had to be sewn into the outfit.

The dress reappeared in pop culture over 30 years later when a collection of Monroe’s estate went up for auction.

According to the New Jersey Herald, the dress fetched $1.3million at auction and was purchased by financial investor Martin Zweig.

However, three years after Zweig’s death in 2013, the dress is once more put up for auction in Los Angeles.

The artefact was sold to an initially anonymous bidder for a jaw-dropping $4.8million.

However, later in 2016, Ripley’s Believe It or Not! comes forward as the winning bidder.

The museum went on to detail how auction fees led to an overall purchase price north of $5million.

Ripley’s owner Jimmy Pattison exhibited the dress in Saskatchewan, Canada before it was moved to “a vault” in Orlando, Florida.

In 2022, Kardashian reportedly asked to borrow the dress ahead of the Met Gala in May.

Kardashian tweeted after being granted permission to don the dress: “Thank you Ripley’s Believe It or Not! for giving me the opportunity to debut this evocative piece of fashion history for the first time since the late Marilyn Monroe wore it.

“I am forever grateful for this moment,” she added to her millions of followers.

However, an episode of The Kardashians revealed Ripley’s initially refused to grant the reality star permission.

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Kardashian said in the episode which aired in November last year: “I flew all the way to Florida to try on the Marilyn dress at Ripley’s.

“They were not going to let me wear this dress, they weren’t even going to let me try it on until Kris Jenner calls…”

Kardashian’s mother Jenner remained tight-lipped on what she said to convince Ripley’s to allow her daughter to wear the outfit, however.

She said on the show: “I can not tell you my secrets. But if somebody says ‘no,’ you know what I say, ‘You’re talking to the wrong person.’”

Kardashian’s outing in the outfit was marred in controversy, however, as it was reported damage had been done to the dress – although Kardashian hasn’t admitted she was at fault.

The Met Gala commences on Monday, May 1 in New York City.

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