There are many parallels that can be drawn between Marilyn Monroe and Kim Kardashian; top of the list may be their bombshell beauty, which set off seismic waves in their respective eras. So Kardashian’s choice to channel the iconic Hollywood actress tonight at the 2022 Met Gala in a nod to the In America: An Anthology of Fashion theme is already the stuff of legend.
“I thought instantly, ‘What’s the most American thing you can think of?’ and that’s Marilyn Monroe,” Kardashian told Vogue. “What’s the most American Marilyn moment, and to me that’s when she sang happy birthday to JFK.” When Kardashian slipped on the very dress that Monroe wore to help ring in President John F. Kennedy’s 45th birthday at Madison Square Garden in 1962—a shimmering flesh-hued number widely known as the original naked dress—she embodied the star’s iconic style, thanks in no small part to a fresh platinum dye job.
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“I did want a physical change, too, so I thought I would wait and do it for this, so I’m spending a day straight dyeing my hair—14 hours straight!—to get it done,” Kardashian explained of achieving the pitch-perfect shade of Marilyn bottle blonde with hairstylist Chris Appleton.
Putting her own twist on Monroe’s hairstyle, Kardashian’s freshly peroxided lengths were slicked into an ultra-modern bun. “The hair look was simple to highlight the platinum color, giving the hair color and dress the attention,” explains Appleton, who used the Dyson Corrale straightener with blasts of Color Wow Extra Shine Spray to smooth the updo back taut. “I wanted it to be iconic to Marilyn, but also iconic to Kim when she has her blonde moment.”