Kim Kardashian turned heads and raised eyebrows at last year’s Met Gala in a classic Marilyn Monroe dress, joined by then-boyfriend Pete Davidson. This year, she arrives solo in a more toned-down look.
Kardashian, 42, wore a custom Schiaparelli outfit, which she paired with a nude bra and mini skirt with rows of pearls. “I feel like Karl has always been so glamorous and you’ll see a lot of pearls,” she told USA TODAY about her look.
The theme “Karl Lagerfeld: A Life of Beauty” is set to honor the late fashion designer, who portrayed Kardashian in her first photo shoot in 2013 for CR Fashion Book. “The world is so much more beautiful because you’ve been around,” she wrote in an Instagram tribute in 2019. She added, “I am so honored to have you and have the opportunity to work with you.”
The hopeful reality star, entrepreneur, and lawyer attended fashion’s biggest night last year with her then-boyfriend Davidson. The two have since split — as indicated in the first trailer for the upcoming season of “The Kardashians,” which came out last week — but Davidson made his own appearance this year.
The former “SNL” comedian, 29, donned the look by Fendi, complete with plum pants, a colorful T-shirt and a black trench coat with his signature red carpet sunglasses and black bucket hat.
She’s joined later on the carpet by the younger Kardashian sisters, Kendall and Kylie Jenner: Kylie dons a red Jean Paul Gaultier gown with a playful one-shoulder slit and thigh-high slit; Kendall wears a black Marc Jacobs sequin shirt with a shiny silver collar and train-length sleeves.
More on the Kardashians’ 2022 lookKim stars with Pete Davidson, and Kylie honors Virgil Abloh
more:Kylie Jenner, Hailey Bieber, and more Generation Z stars spark the ‘no pants’ fashion trend
Marilyn Monroe’s controversial 2022 tribute to Kim Kardashian
Last year, all six of the most famous women in the Kardashian-Jenner family presented a united front at the Met Gala just hours after they won Blac Chyna’s defamation trial. Kim, Kourtney, and Khloe Kardashian, as well as Kylie, Kendall, and Kris Jenner all attended in 2022. Only Kim, Kylie, and Kendall are expected to arrive this year.
For 2022’s theme, “In America: An Anthology of Fashion,” the red carpet was all about gilded glamour. Kim borrowed the original bodycon Bob Mackie dress Marilyn Monroe wore to sing “Happy Birthday” to President John F. Kennedy, nearly 60 years to the day after the famous actress. The figure-hugging nude dress, which features more than 2,500 hand-sewn crystals, sold at auction for Ripley’s Believe It or Not for nearly $5 million in 2016. The reality TV star told Vogue she had to lose 16 pounds to fit in the dress . .
Davidson went with a plain black Dior tux, sunglasses, and custom Or & Elle cufflinks. “(Kim) wouldn’t let me put my fan hat on, but it’s okay,” the comedian said.
Kardashian later faced backlash for allegedly ruining the dress and perpetuating insecure thoughts about losing weight. Ripley later said in a statement that Kardashian “did not damage the gown in any way in the short amount of time she wore it at the Met Gala.” Kardashian defended her weight loss in an interview with The New York Times: “For me it was like, ‘Well, Christian Bale can do that for a role in a movie and that’s okay.'” Even Renee Zellweger gained weight for a role. Kardashian said, “All of that. It’s the same for me.”
Kardashian has attended every Met Gala since 2013, often with ex-husband Ye, formerly known as Kanye West. Yi has not attended since 2019.
Contributing: Annika Reed
More on the Kardashians and the Met Gala
more:Kim Kardashian stunned in a Marilyn Monroe dress at the Met Gala. But at what cost?
And the:Kim Kardashian defends her weight loss at the Met Gala after critics called her style ‘disturbing’
