Kim Kardashian definitely turned heads when she turned up to this year’s Met Gala in one of Marilyn Monroe’s most iconic dresses – but not everyone was sold on the fashion moment.
The reality TV personality, known for starring in Keeping Up With The Kardashians, has become a style icon and beauty mogul in her own right over the years.
So it’s hardly surprising that Kardashian made headlines by wearing the exact dress Monroe wore in 1962, when she seductively sang Happy Birthday Mr President to JF Kennedy.
However, people have pointed out several significant problems with Kardashian’s look – especially when it came to her preparation for the event.
The star revealed she had to lose 16 pounds in three weeks just to fit into the dress when speaking to Vogue magazine on the red carpet.
She said: “It was such a challenge. It was like a role. I was determined to fit.”
“I always thought she [Monroe] was extremely curvy,” Kardashian continued. “I imagined I might be smaller in some places where she was bigger and bigger in places where she was smaller.
“So when it didn’t fit me I wanted to cry because it can’t be altered at all.”
Kardashian even detailed how she lost more than a stone in such a short time. “I would wear a sauna suit twice a day, run on the treadmill, completely cut out all sugar and all carbs, and just eat the cleanest veggies and protein. I didn’t starve myself but I was so strict.”
“When it didn’t fit me, I wanted to cry”
- Kim Kardashian
Losing so much weight in less than a month is rarely – if ever – recommended by health experts, especially as sweating out your water weight through a sauna suit is likely to just leave you severely dehydrated.
The TV personality also said she wanted to “cry tears of joy” when she finally fit into the gown, a direct contradiction of the positive messages coming from health and fashion campaigners that clothes are meant to fit our bodies, not the other way around.
Kardashian skipped the afterparty for the event, too, and revealed she was going to gorge on “pizza and doughnuts” instead. Again, binging is rarely a practice promoted by health professionals as it can have a huge impact on your body, especially after following such a strict diet.
The star’s weight loss is the latest talking point in the ongoing conversation about how we talk about our diets. It comes just after the UK decided to introduce calorie counts on restaurant menus, which already prompted fears that we are going backwards in our approach to body image.
This isn’t the first time Kardashian has faced significant backlash for promoting an unhealthy approach to her appearance either.
In 2018, her sisters could be heard telling the star she “looks anorexic” and “really skinny” on her Instagram stories, to which Kardashian replied: “Oh my god, the compliments!”
The star has been criticised for her heavy use of Photoshop and accused of setting unrealistic beauty standards for her 307 million Instagram followers through her altered posts.
Kardashian has promoted questionable weight loss products in the past too, including an appetite suppressant lollipop and so-called diet teas.
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