Revivals Prove Off Putting, Pointless

Vivienne Westwood combined music and fashion to create the distinct punk fashion style. She is credited with being the founder of said style in the 80s after she creating a boutique with Malcom McLaren and together they made clothes for Sex Pistols. Her designs have been worn by many notable names including Du-

Eva Stegic

Ainsley Pflaum | Contributing Writer ran Duran and Princess Eugenie. She also designed clothes for the flm version of “Sex and the City.”Her designes resurged in 2020 among teens with The New York Times dubbing the classic pearl choker as “The TikTok necklace” in 2021.

Old clothes, music, and sayings always tend to come back from previous generations, but to what extent should we reboot from the past? Rebooting old styles of clothes, music genres, and interior design is a way to tribute past time periods, but not when they go against the wishes of someone associated with an object.

Kim Kardashian instigated controversy after wearing Marilyn Monroe’s famous sequin floor-length dress to the 2022 Met Gala. Kim claims she only wore the dress briefly and did not damage it, and says she understands how much it means to American history. But does that mean she should have been allowed to wear it? While most agree that certain trends and songs are timeless, many believe that original historical objects should stay in the past. Such was the response to Kardashian in Monroe’s dress; Bob Mack-

Tess Dayhoff ‘25 concurs, “The fact that the designer said no is really important because he is the one who crafted the dress specifically for Marilyn Monroe.” ie, the designer of Monroe’s famous dress, condemned Kim’s choice saying, “It was designed for [Monroe]. No one else should be seen in that dress.” While Kardashian and Monroe are both American icons in different ways, Monroe’s dress was a symbol of her unique style and status as Hollywood’s most recognizable star and ought to be preserved as such.

Kardashian also chose to dye her hair blonde and post public updates on her “crash diet” to fit into the dress, provoking more backlash for trying to imitate the bombshell signature look that made Monroe the sex-icon she is today. While these actions alone would not have been disrespectful, her insistence on wearing Monroe’s original hand-crafted dress made the act seem obnoxious. Geneva Stockton ‘25 points out that “Marilyn didn’t want anyone else to wear her dress. [Kardashian] worked her way through the system to wear it against Monroe’s will.” Stockton adds, “The dress didn’t fit her even after all her plastic surgery.” Kardashian revealed she had to plead with her mom, Kris Jenner, in order to convince Ripley’s, which held the dress, to let her wear it. Dayhoff continues, “The intentions behind it also matter. If Kardashian was trying to honor or pay homage to Monroe, it would be different, but if she was wearing it just because, it seems disrespectful.” As Kardashian stood posing for mobs of paparazzi alongside Pete Davidson, it did not appear to be an act of homage.