Kim Kardashian might not always have been fashion royalty, but, every year, when the the Met Gala rolls around, all eyes are on the reality star - and her outfit. With Kim, no idea is too wild: who can forget last year, when she turned up in a balaclava, and became the night’s biggest meme? This year, Kim even switched up her trademark brunette locks, dying her hair a cool platinum blonde - so she could morph into a modern Marilyn Monroe{
But she did more than just change her hair to recreate the look: speaking to Vogue, she revealed that - in order to fit into the dress - she lost 16 pounds in just three weeks. For those who need the context, that’s 7.25kg - around the same weight as a 5-month-old baby.
And, to put it frankly, it's not the kind of weight loss that can be achieved healthily in such a small time frame. Kim said she didn’t ‘starve’ herself; however she did admit that she ‘would wear a sauna suit twice a day, run on the treadmill’ and ‘completely cut out all sugar and all carbs’. It might not be a big deal for Kim, but this is extreme. (And she might have prepped for weeks, but she wore the actual dress for minutes, as after her red carper appearance, she changed into a replica.)
It doesn’t come as a surprise that Kim had to lose weight to fit into the gown, as, at the time, Marilyn Monroe (who would be a size eight in today's sizes) was reportedly sewn into the dress.
But even though Kim looked sensational, and has, without a doubt, become a part of fashion history - she said she was wearing the Marilyn dress or nothing - we can’t help but think that the message Kim is sending out is completely wrong. Whether or not you want to lose weight before an event is a personal choice, but with Kim openly admitting how much weight she’d lost before the Met Ball, she’s implying that, in order to look your best before a big event, you should lose weight.
Kim's comments are also dangerous. By specifying the exact amount of weight she lost, and the time frame in which she did so, there’s a real danger that some of Kim’s followers might think “Oh, Kim lost 16 pounds in three weeks, so can I.” But most normal people won't be able to lose this kind of weight without making dangerous sacrifices. As one of the world's richest women, Kim is not only able to focus solely on weight loss but hire the best people - chefs, personal trainers - to help her do so. Normal people don't have these types of resources and crash diets, which is the only way you can achieve this rapid weight loss, can easily morph into debilitating, destructive eating disorders.
It’s not the first time Kim has stoked controversy about her outfits at the Met, either. She has form for fitting into the tiniest outfits possible, at whatever the cost. Her wet-look dress in 2019, created by the late Thierry Mugler, was so tight, with its impossibly tiny waist, that Kim had to have breathing lessons and she said that she couldn’t use the bathroom. As Kim is one of the most followed, and photographed, women in the world - the outfits she wears to the Met matter. So we hope next year the only prep she’s getting is her hair and nails, not some wild - and totally unattainable - weight loss routine.