Kim Kardashian rocked fashion history on the Met Gala red carpet.
The 41-year-old stepped out for fashion’s biggest night in the original Jean Louis-designed gown that was famously worn by Marilyn Monroe when she serenaded John F. Kennedy for his birthday in 1962.
This marked the first time the gown was worn in 60 years and by anyone other than Monroe.
To ensure that the iconic dress was the perfect fit, “The Kardashians” star first tried on a replica for size, according to PEOPLE.
But when the original was flown via a private plane from the Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum in Orlando, Florida to Kardashian’s home in California, she was shocked that it didn’t fit.
"I always thought she was extremely curvy. I imagined I might be smaller in some places where she was bigger and bigger in places where she was smaller. So when it didn't fit me I wanted to cry because it can't be altered at all,” Kardashian told Vogue. She also noted that the dress was transported by guards and handled with extreme care.
“I had to wear gloves to try it on," she explained.
Kardashian wasn’t giving up on the opportunity to make a statement by wearing Monroe’s gown, so she opted for an intense diet instead. While walking the Met Gala red carpet, she revealed that she lost 16lbs in three weeks.
"I would wear a sauna suit twice a day, run on the treadmill, completely cut out all sugar and all carbs, and just eat the cleanest veggies and protein," she explained to Vogue about her strict regimen, adding, "I didn't starve myself, but I was so strict."
She recalls wanting to “cry tears of joy when it went up” in the final fitting.
Kardashian, who turned heads in the skin-tight gold rhinestone gown, channeled her inner-Marilyn with bleached blond hair pulled into a tight bun. It took her “14 hours” to dye her dark tresses into a platinum hue.
However, in a blink and you’ll miss it moment, Kardashian was only in the original dress for a few minutes before swapping it out for the replica.
The real dress can be seen as she makes an entrance and poses on the iconic Met steps with boyfriend and “SNL” star Pete Davidson.
Vogue notes that she walked over to a small, makeshift fitting room where she was greeted by a conservationist from Ripley's waiting "to assist her in white gloves."
The reality star explained that she opted to swap dresses because of it’s historical value, noting she was “extremely respectful to the dress and what it means to American history.”
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She elaborated: “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," she noted.
She even had to “practice walking up the stairs” so that she didn’t damage the dress.
The white glove treatment was necessary as the gown is said to be the most expensive dress ever sold at an auction for $4.8 million in 2016. Vogue notes that it is “stored in a darkened vault that’s controlled at the optimum 68 degrees and 40-50% humidity.”
So, how did Kardashian get her hands on it?
"I'm a big fan of auctions and I own several JFK pieces so I know the owner of Julien's. He was able to connect me [with Ripley's] and that's how the conversation started," Kardashian revealed.
While posing in the dress for an Instagram photo, the star thanked the museum for giving her 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.”
Kardashian even explained the gown’s significance.
“Nowadays everyone wears sheer dresses, but back then that was not the case,” she said, adding “In a sense, it’s the original naked dress. That’s why it was so shocking.”
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