There are likely to be many fashion historians who nearly went into cardiac arrest on Friday, their second in a week.

Because Kim Kardashian revealed with an Instagram photo that she wore not one, but two Marilyn Monroe dresses on the night of the Met Gala a week ago.

Both 60 years old and tailored for the American icon, who embodied a different definition of curvy than Kim Kardashian does today.

Sarah Obertreis

Editor in the Germany and the World department

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Kim Kardashian's handling of it and her insistence on wearing the original has sparked heated debates between conservators, historians and the owners of iconic fashions.

Sarah Scaturro, director of conservation at the Cleveland Museum of Art, referred to a ruling in the 1980s that historically significant clothing should not be worn.

Scaturro expressed concern to the Los Angeles Times that collections are now being pressured to rent their red carpet dresses.

Kardashian was the second person ever to wear the dress

Kim Kardashian wore the dress that caused a scandal during the Met Gala, as Marilyn Monroe sang her birthday song for John F. Kennedy in it.

The dress's owners, curio collection Ripley's, said it wasn't an easy decision to lend it to someone else.

Normally, the dress is kept at a constant 20 degrees and 40 to 50 percent humidity on a special form in a dark vault.

Because it is embroidered with about 6000 crystals, it is very delicate.

The stones, especially when moved, tear holes easily.

To reinforce the first impression that Monroe is naked, the dress was made from extra-thin fabric that has lost its elasticity over the years.

Against this background, it is irresponsible to let someone wear the dress for even a few minutes and under supervision, according to Scaturro and other conservators.

After all, there would be nothing against a copy.

Singer Lana Del Rey wore a replica of the dress for her music video for National Anthem in 2012.

Those who lent the dresses to Kim Kardashian, despite being worth millions, counter that wearing them is a way of commemorating their historical relevance.

The second, emerald green dress that Kim Kardashian presented on the night of the gala is made of jersey and is therefore said to be a little more robust.

Contrary to what was initially assumed, the forty-one-year-old didn't change it, just wore it a little differently than Monroe, who had once appeared in it at the Golden Globes.

Kim Kardashian has not yet commented on the discussion, but the past shows that your handling of America's history is rather pragmatic.

In 2019, she bought a jacket worn by Michael Jackson for Elizabeth Taylor's 65th birthday for $65,000 - and gave it to her six-year-old daughter.