TLDR
Kim Kardashian is rumored to be plotting a Met Gala entrance in Princess Diana’s legendary revenge dress, and the buzz is reopening deep anger over her controversial Marilyn Monroe gown moment.
The dress has not been seen on a public figure since Diana stepped out in it in 1994. Yet Met Gala speculation exploded after entertainment correspondent Rishi Davda told “Good Morning Britain” viewers, “If rumors are to be believed, she is hiring another iconic frock, none other than Princess Diana’s 1994 revenge dress.”
The Christina Stambolian-designed black mini with its off-the-shoulder neckline became instant royal folklore when Diana wore it to a London charity dinner on the same night King Charles, then Prince of Wales, admitted to infidelity in a televised interview. It was read as a wordless response, a dress that said what Diana could not.
Today, the original gown belongs to Scottish collector Graeme Mackenzie, who reportedly paid more than $74,000 for it at a 1997 auction. It is understood to be stored in a bank vault, preserved rather than displayed, which makes the idea of lending it to a modern red carpet feel daring to some and deeply unsettling to preservationists.
That unease is sharpened by Kardashian’s last brush with fashion history. For the 2022 Met Gala, she borrowed Marilyn Monroe’s rhinestone-covered nude gown from Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, the same dress Monroe wore to sing “Happy Birthday” to President John F. Kennedy in 1962.
After the gala, a video filmed at Ripley’s museum in Hollywood appeared online. It showed close-up footage of the back right strap and fabric, with a visible tear and what fans claimed were missing crystals. Monroe devotee Darrell Rooney posted the clip and wrote, “Notice the damage to the right strap in the back of Marilyn Monroe’s 1962 gown.” In another post, he added, “Look at the damage caused by KK. Irreversible.”
Comments flooded in, aimed at both the museum and Kardashian. One fan wrote, “Ripley doesn’t deserve the dress. They have no integrity and lack the professional skills to maintain historical artifacts of value.” Another asked, “Can [Kardashian] be sued for damaging the dress?” and called the alleged harm to Monroe’s gown “absolutely disgusting.”
For critics, the problem is not only the condition reports and loose crystals. It is what they see as a pattern. Kardashian has already stepped into Diana’s jewelry box, purchasing the Attallah Cross, the princess’s amethyst-and-diamond pendant, at Sotheby’s in 2023 for just under $200,000. When she later wore the piece, some royal watchers branded the look “vulgar” and accused her of raiding a legacy rather than honoring it.
To admirers, Kardashian is a student of image, curating her own mythology by aligning herself with women whose style changed culture. To her detractors, each acquisition, each loan, feels like another encroachment on memories that belong to an older generation.
If Diana’s revenge dress does emerge on the Met Gala steps, it will be more than a fashion moment. It will be a referendum on who gets to touch history, who gets to profit from it, and whether Kim Kardashian is rewriting the stories of her icons or simply borrowing their shine. The real reveal may be whether she decides this is one legend that should stay locked in the vault.
Should gowns like Marilyn Monroe’s and Princess Diana’s stay in vaults, or do stars like Kim keep their stories alive by wearing them? Share where you draw the line between tribute and trespass.
