Paparazzi. Million dollar outfits. Fanatical insta-scrolling. That’s the thing about the Met Gala and royal weddings, they make fashion lovers go bonkers! Celebrities and royals spend a LOT of money on their fits for their big day. But what happens when they choose to rewear iconic outfits from the past? They either create history or await controversy— whatever it is, it’s definitely done in style. Personally, if I ever get invited to the Met gala or am a royal bride, I might consider being super controversial like Kim Kardarshian with her Marilyn Monroe dress for the 2022 Met Gala, or honour a late designer like Dua Lipa as a Chanel Bride for the 2023 Met Gala or modernise Queen Elizabeth II’s dress for my wedding like Princess Beatrice. In this age of fast fashion, are these influential people moving towards sustainable choices in fashion or just riling up media?
Kim Kardarshian wore the 1962 Marilyn Monroe’s ‘Happy Birthday, Mr President’ dress, designed by Jean Louis, an Academy Award winning designer, for the 2022 Met Gala. This 2500 crystal embellished piece of American History, is displaced in the Ripley’s Museum, valuing at almost 5 million USD.
Even though it has been a year, sometimes I wonder if it was worth impairing the integrity of a 60-year old iconic dress for a 10 minute red carpet walk? Even though she got a replica made, to change into after the red carpet was it worth taking it out of the preserved state from the museum? Was it really necessary to wear the original after a drastic weight loss transformation in three weeks that she put herself through? Especially into a dress that was so tight on Monroe that she had to be sewn into it. Moreover, the theme year for the 2022 Met Gala was ‘Gilded Glamour and White tie’ covering the time periods of 1870-1890. I truly wonder if all the backlash she got for it was warranted.
But talking about being on theme for the Met Gala, is none other than Dua Lipa who was a Chanel Bride for the 2023 Met, themed ‘Karl Lagerfeld: A line of beauty’. It was originally modelled by Lagerfeld’s muse Claudia Schiffer during his most respected show—the Chanel couture Fall, 1992. Through this vintage dress, she paid homage to Mr Lagerfeld and his immense contributions to fashion, which was why this theme was chosen in the first place.
Along with all those midnight musings about celebrity fits, I believe that if Kim wore this outfit, she probably wouldn’t have gotten backlash either. Which brings up the question regarding the iconic outfits in history; what is allowed to be reworn and what is not?
Talking about iconic outfits in history, Princess Beatrice might have won the jackpot when she wore Queen Elizebeth II, her grandmother’s dress for her wedding in July, 2020. The dress was worn by the late Majesty a few times— once in 1960, then in 1962 and 1967. The vintage dress designed by Norman Hartnell (who also designed the late Queen’s wedding and coronation dress) was altered and tweaked to make Princess Beatrice’s special dress. The 60 year old ivory dress got some new organza sleeves and a trimmed satin hem. Interestingly, the princess also wore the same diamond fringe tiara the late majesty wore for her wedding. The princess really did find a way to pay tribute to her grandmother while also taking the pandemic into consideration; with economies being in shambles, not blowing a ton of money on a wedding dress was definitely a wise choice.
The vintage dress designed by Norman Hartnell (who also designed the late Queen’s wedding and coronation dress) was altered and tweaked to make Princess Beatrice’s special dress. The 60 year old ivory dress got some new organza sleeves and a trimmed satin hem. Interestingly, the princess also wore the same diamond fringe tiara the late majesty wore for her wedding. The princess really did find a way to pay tribute to her grandmother while also taking the pandemic into consideration; with economies being in shambles, not blowing a ton of money on a wedding dress was definitely a wise choice.
While talking about these champagne problems of fashion, I don’t think any of these decisions were taken keeping sustainability in mind. It is not common for influential people to rewear outfits. But the very attempt to do so, has unintended ripple effects of normalising rewearing outfits, perhaps paving the path for thrift culture in an appealing way. In addition, it also opens up conversations of upcycling fashion and propels us to rethink our own notions of repurposing clothes and related fashion choices.
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