After Being Forbidden From Making Alterations, Here’s How Kendall Jenner Wound Up Being The “First Human” Ever To Wear Her 25-Year-Old Met Gala Gown

“It’s been sleeping for the last 25 years. It’s literally a ‘sleeping beauty.’”

By
Ellen Durney
by Ellen Durney

BuzzFeed Staff

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With a dress code centered around “The Garden of Time,” Monday night’s Met Gala was bound to bring out some fantastic gowns from the fashion history books. And one person who delivered on that front was Kendall Jenner.

Woman in an ornate black dress with shoulder detailing smiles at an event
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In case you’ve not seen, Kendall stunned in a 25-year-old Givenchy Couture dress designed by the late Alexander McQueen, complete with some serious shoulder fringe and a very daring cutout on the butt.

Person on red carpet in a lace outfit with fringe details, posing with cameras in the background
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The piece, adorned with over 100,000 black and brass beads and sequins, is quite the work of art. Not only that, but it’s a historical artifact, too — having never previously been worn by a living person.

Woman in a sheer, embellished gown posing against a leafy backdrop
Cindy Ord / Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
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For a bit of context, when the dress was presented in McQueen’s autumn/winter 1999 Givenchy Haute Couture collection, it was only ever shown on a mannequin. And after that, it was moved straight into the Givenchy archive.

Mannequin displaying a vintage-style dress with beadwork and an ornate headpiece
Wwd / Penske Media via Getty Images

This meant that when Kendall and her stylist, Dani Michelle, fell in love with the gown a quarter of a century later, she was the “first human” ever to try it on.

Two women engaging in conversation at a social event, one wearing a sleeveless star-patterned dress, the other in a textured gown
Arturo Holmes / Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue

“It’s been sleeping for the last 25 years. It’s literally a ‘sleeping beauty,’” Kendall told Vogue ahead of the big night, paying homage to the basis of this year’s Costume Institute exhibit, Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion.

Fashion models walk a runway with patterned clothing in a spotlight, surrounded by an audience
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“It’s such a special moment,” she added. “I feel extremely honored that they’re allowing me to wear it.”

Because the garment had been preserved in pristine condition for so long, Kendall and her team were also strictly forbidden from making any alterations, meaning it was a “miracle” that it was a perfect fit when it was time to try it on.

Kendall Jenner in a sheer lace gown with a plunging neckline at a gala event. Photographers in the background
Jamie Mccarthy / Getty Images

“I am so, so incredibly honored to wear it. I am the first human to wear it,” she told La La Anthony on the red carpet as the gown made its Met Gala debut. “It was a miracle that it fit. It was a miracle that we found it. It just feels meant to be.”

Speaking to Vogue, Dani said the dress — which will soon return home to the archive — was a nod to the “darker queen of a Sleeping Beauty story,” with Kendall adding that the night’s theme “screamed archival.”

Kendall Jenner in a glittery gown with shoulder embellishments at an event
Theo Wargo / The Hollywood Reporter via Getty Images

“The way it’s cut in the back, and the low butt — all these beautiful things feel very me,” she said.

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