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The most expensive Met Gala dress ever cost $4.8 million, was 'permanently damaged' by star
In 2022, a popular celeb wore a $4.8 million dress to the Met Gala and opened a can of worms when it was damaged beyond repair.
The 2025 Met Gala saw the biggest stars in the world converge at the Metropolitan Museum in New York on Monday evening. The annual fashion event saw the biggest names in Hollywood and beyond walk the blue carpet, dressed in some of the finest designer clothes available. In line with the Met Gala themes, extravagant was the way to go. Yet none of the extravagant and opulent outfits held a candle to one worn by a reality TV star three years ago.
The most expensive Met Gala dress
In 2022, the Met Gala had the theme - In America: An Anthology of Fashion, which meant that celebs had to wear something that represented a piece of American history. Reality TV star Kim Kardashian had the perfect idea. Kim arrived at the gala in a dress that the late Marilyn Monroe had infamously worn some six decades before her. The sequinned dress - nicknamed the Birthday Dress - was worn by Marilyn at then-President John F Kennedy's birthday celebrations in May 1962. Marylin's sensuous rendition of the Happy Birthday song for the President while wearing the dress not only blew the lid off a scandal but became a defining pop culture moment in history.
The original gown, a sheer, skin-toned marquisette fabric embellished with over 2,500 hand-sewn rhinestones, was originally designed by Jean Louis and sketched by Bob Mackie. In 2016, Canadian billionaire Jim Pattison purchased it at an auction for a whopping $4.8 million. It was then stored at the Ripley's Believe It or Not museum. Kim Kardashian took permission from Ripley's to wear it to the Met Gala in 2022 and turned quite a few heads while doing so.
Did Kim Kardashian 'permanently damage' Marylin Monroe's dress?
The original gown was designed for Marilyn, and it is said that she was 'sewn into' it, implying how perfect the fit was. Moreover, the dress was meant to be worn just once. Kim Kardashian has a body type and measurements very different from the late screen icon for whom the dress was made. Naturally, the dress stretched upon its second use. In 2024, a picture posted by a Marilyn Monroe fan club revealed the full extent of the damage, including holes, stretched fabric, and tears in many places.
Many insiders called the damage permanent, a charge that Kim Kardashian vehemently denied. Even Ripley's response was that "great care was taken to preserve this piece of pop culture history. With input from garment conservationists, appraisers, and archivists, the garment’s condition was top priority". Yet, the damage speaks for itself. The dress is still on display at the Ripley's museum.
