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The Met Gala is less than a week away on Monday, May 1st! Taking place at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, the annual tradition brings together the biggest names in entertainment, fashion, and sports. This year’s theme is Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty, which will act as the dress code we see throughout the night.
Red carpets are the time for celebrities to show off their gorgeous dresses, and jewels, and at times, make political statements. The Met Gala started as a “midnight supper” in 1948, according to Vogue, and has evolved into one of the biggest nights in fashion. So who has worn the most expensive dress to the event?
A Kardashian
It should come as no surprise that a Kardashian has worn the most expensive dress to the Gala. In 2022 Kim Kardashian infamously got her mittens on Marilyn Monroe’s custom gown she wore on May 19, 1962, to sing Happy Birthday to President John F. Kennedy. It was made of a sheer and flesh-colored marquisette fabric, with 2,500 rhinestones sewn into it. The dress was so tight, she needed to be sewn into it. She also wore nothing underneath.
By the time Kim got her billionaire hands on it, it was worth $4.8 million. Bob Mackie sketched the design for Jean Louis, the leading fashion designer of the time. Louis paid $1,440.33 (equivalent to $14292 today) for its construction. The dress sold in 1999 at an auction in New York City for over $1.26 million before Canadian billionaire Jim Pattison purchased the dress on November 17, 2016, at a Los Angeles auction for $4.8 million.
Pattison is the President and CEO at Ripley Entertainment, and the gown was displayed at Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Museum. Kardashian’s decision to wear the dress did not come without controversy. From her weight loss- to rumors that she damaged it- the dress now has a Kardashian-tainted mark on it.