Influencer supreme Kim Kardashian has landed herself in hot water again after donning one of Princess Diana’s statement pieces, two years after being falsely accused of damaging a Marilyn Monroe dress at the 2022 Met Gala.
A purveyor of fine fashion with the money to spend on it, Kim purchased Diana’s cross necklace at auction in 2023 for $197,453. The reality star turned meta-celebrity has a taste for archival pieces, and not even royal jewelry is safe.
She broke it out of whatever fancy protective case it was in for the first time at the 2024 LACMA Art + Film Gala at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The large “Attallah Cross” pendant sat above the plunging neckline of a white Gucci gown.
The necklace features square-cut amethysts and circling diamonds weighing 5.25 carats, according to Harpers Bazaar. It’s nothing if not a statement piece, the purple stones standing out against her autumn coloring and ivory cape. Kim also wore pearls around her neck — fitting, given how pearl-clutchy the responses were. The internet flamed her for having the gall to wear such a revealing dress while wearing the cross.
Kim is no stranger to clothing backlash, she has faced it throughout her entire career, from when she was ex Kanye West’s eerie dress-up doll for his Yeezy brand to her infamous Monroe stunt at the Met Gala. There’s a bit more to this than the usual “who wore it better” commentary, though.
The chastising stems from three places. Firstly, the perception of the late Princess Diana being an incredibly demure and classy figure (she was). We can infer a lot from the way the media and public treat women based on how much skin they do or don’t show; many of the comments taking up for Diana claim Kim is being “inappropriate” or call her “cheap.” The subtext is that because she is showing cleavage and isn’t afraid of showing her body, she’s lesser than.
Diana once made a splash when she wore a little black dress post-separation from King Charles III, which goes to show you how reactionary these royal-obsessed commentators traditionally are. Additionally, she was beloved because she had a quiet, modest quality to her. Something about that perception of her, mixed with the cross on Kim’s spray-tanned body is not sitting right with people.
The other side of the coin is the reaction from those who believe she is making a “blatant mockery” of Christianity. Diana was a Christian, but there’s not a lot of information on how devout she was or how she would have responded to the cross being worn in this way.
When Diana wore it, she was in a black gown that covered her almost head to toe, so there are no ifs or buts about how she styled it However, Diana also found more freedom in her clothing after she left the confines of royal life, with people surmising the aforementioned “revenge dress” was as much a statement of independence as it was a fashion one. We have no indication she’d be offended by Kim’s look.
Lastly, some people think the likes of the necklace shouldn’t be available to Kim, whether it be because they think archival items should be protected or that she is reckless. However, reports that Kim ruined Monroe’s dress were denied by the Marilyn Monroe Collection, who lent her the dress, so there aren’t grounds to say she habitually desecrates items.
Whether you think archival pieces of fashion history should be up for grabs to anyone with a shiny enough credit card comes down to personal belief, but ultimately the owners, whether they be organizations or private individuals, make the choice whether to sell or lend them out. Probably not something we’d wear out, but our job isn’t to go viral every three to five business days.
