Can you guess the MOST expensive dress ever worn to the Met Gala: Hint — It was a Kardashian!
The definition of an icon has changed over the decades. Safe to say then, the hallowed silhouette in question was worn by not one, but two pop culture icons!
Met Gala isn't called 'fashion's biggest night' just like that. It's essentially a sartorial parade of the most complex-ly curated, over-the-top ensembles, adhering to the set theme of the year, equally layered.
Now while nothing really is 'over-the-top' for the annual Met Monday — fashion and theme interpretation is subjective after all — there is one standard of comparison which is pretty objective, when it comes to ranking ensembles in order. Money honey!
Looking at the girth, trail, volume and flair of the innumerable sartorial works of art that have graced the carpet, chalking down the most expensive 'look' is near impossible, what with Met Gala jewellery detail-digging being it's own dedicated universe. The stats can however, be narrowed down when we take just the silhouette into question. And it's a pretty straightforward answer.
Now for better or for worse, whichever side of the debate you fall on, the crowning glory of having worn the most expensive dress ever to the Met, goes to none other than a Kardashian. And honestly, it isn't surprising at all that Kim Kardashian has this feather on her cap as well.
The 2022 Met Gala carried the theme of 'In America: An Anthology of Fashion'. And objectively, Kimberly nailed it. She walked the steps of the Met, poised and puckered as ever, in a sheer and flesh-colored marquisette fabric dress, sewn with 2,500 rhinestones.
The dress, infamously, belonged to Marilyn Monroe, and was worn by her as she notoriously serenaded President John F. Kennedy, sultrily singing Happy Birthday Mr. President, on May 19, 1962, for a celebratory gala held for him, 10 days before his actual birthday. The dress is believed to have been so tight, that Marilyn worn nothing under it, and had to be sown into it before she went on stage. Speaking of Kim nailing it — what could possibly be more American and anthology-esque in fashion, than a decades-old dress which carries the lore of an American president and the OG American siren?
Coming to the big price tag, it's current day value stands at $4.8 million. Sketched by Bob Mackie for designer Jean Louis, the dress at the time of its creation came together in $1,440.33, which would amount to $14292 today, as per a Hola report. The dress was initially sold at a New York City auction in 1999 for more than $1.26 million. On November 17, 2016, Canadian billionaire Jim Pattison acquired it for $4.8 million at an auction in Los Angeles.
Do you think anybody will be topping this number any time soon?
