Fashion Conservators Outraged By Kim Kardashian's Wearing of Marilyn Monroe's Dress: Will It Unravel the Whole System?
Kim Kardashian wore Marilyn Monroe's Jean Louis dress at this year's Met Gala, and the act has conservators nervous about what sort of precedent this sets for the future.
First thing first: Kim Kardashian looked absolutely phenomenal at this year's Met Gala. The sparkling dress she wore was the same one taht was made iconic when Monroe wore it as she sung her memorable rendition of, "Happy Birthday, Mr. President." Kardashian's bleached hair brought Marilyn - or, at least, the cultural idea of Marylin - into the modern day.
As she took the carpet, arm-in-arm with boyfriend Pete Davidson, her striking look had jaw dropping and was, quite literally, historic.
However, her "historic" look may not be such a good things in the eyes of everyone. Fashion curators and textile conservators, for example, are not pleased.
While great care was taken to ensure that Kardashian did not harm the dress in any way, having security guards watching and protecting the dress (yes, the dress itself) all night. The issue, however, is not the danger that the The Kardashian star put the dress in, but the precedent it overturns and the new one it sets going forward, that people are saying is dangerous.
A conservator at the Clevland Museum of Art and a former conservator of the Met's Costume Institute, Sarah Scaturro, told the Los Angeles Times:
"I'm frustrated because it sets back what is considered professional treatment for historic costume...In the '80s, a bunch of costume professionals came together to state a resolution that historic costume should not be worn. So my worry is that colleagues in historic costume collections are now going to be pressured by important people to let them wear garments."
Scaturro is not alone in this opinion. An independent art conservator who focuses on historic dress, Cara Varnell, seconded the opinion to the LA Times, adding outrage at what she firmly believes is an attack on our shared and protected history.
"We just don't wear archived historic pieces...Obviously, if you have a Charles James hanging in your grandmother's closet and you want to wear it, fine. But something that's archived means it has enough cultural importance that we value it and want to save it. The dress represents something very important - it's part of our collective cultural heritage. I'm speechless over it."
We are interested to see how this important and controversial event in fashion history (costume) changes the conversation.
