Blonde, starring Ana De Armas, premiered on September 8 at the 79th Venice International Film Festival. Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Tracey Landon, Brad Pitt, and Scott Robertson produced the film.

Blonde explores the growing gap between Monroe’s public and private selves, commencing with her tumultuous childhood as Norma Jeane and continuing through her rise to stardom and romantic affairs.

Also Read: The controversies surrounding Marilyn Monroe

The iconic star has always remained at the forefront of controversies, owing to her bold nature and disregard for “appropriate” fashion protocols during Hollywood’s golden age. Here is a list of instances where Monroe made iconic fashion statements which are considered revolutionary to date. 

1.  Marilyn Monroe wore a potato sack dress in 1951

There are various forms of the story behind a set of promotional images of Marilyn Monroe wearing a potato sack dress taken in 1951.

The best one entails a party at the Beverly Hills Hotel where Monroe, then 24, reportedly showed up wearing a revealing red dress that a columnist referred to as “cheap and vulgar,” adding that she would have been served better wearing a “potato sack.” Twentieth Century Fox’s public relations department then capitalised on the opportunity by casting her in one.

The less colourful version of the story goes that the studio was simply hoping to generate publicity by implying that their starlet was so stunning that she could make a potato sack look good — which she unquestionably does.

2.  Monroe flouted all dress codes while meeting Queen Elizabeth II 

The classic meeting between the Queen of the Silver Screen and the Queen of the United Kingdom went down in history, and even in 2022, the incident is frequently revived on the Internet.

Monroe spent four months in the United Kingdom in 1956, filming ‘The Prince and the Showgirl,’ co-starring Laurence Olivier.

According to People, organisers asked all female artists who would be attending to “dress in a suitable manner to meet royalty — for example, they should not wear gowns that were so low-cut that they showed too much cleavage.”

Also Read: 5 best Marilyn Monroe movies

However, much to everyone’s surprise, Marilyn Monroe flouted all the fashion protocols and instead wore a “ gown that was made of gold lamé and was so low-cut that the tops of Marilyn’s breasts were on full display. Tight to the body, with spaghetti straps and a fold of material meeting at the chest and heading down towards the floor, the dress came complete with a matching cap and bag” according to People. 

3. The iconic flying skirt scene in The Seven Year Itch

One of the most iconic images of Marilyn Monroe is of her pulling down the flying skirt of her white gown. The scene is taken from the film The Seven Year Itch. Although she reportedly enjoyed filming the scene, her husband at the time, Joe DiMaggio, was not all pleased with it. 

Being married to the biggest bombshell in Hollywood, DiMaggio did nothing to calm his possessive feelings. This scene is said to have been the breaking point in their marriage.

According to Monroe’s biography, after the scene was completed, the two had a domestic dispute.

“They argued terribly when Marilyn returned from location, exhausted, in the early morning,” the book says. “Through the walls, guests in neighbouring rooms could hear them yelling at each other.” Marilyn had bruises on her arms the next day, which she had to conceal with makeup.”

Following that, rumours of their divorce began to circulate.  The couple soon parted ways.

4. She wore a pink dress that was deemed “inappropriate”

When Marilyn Monroe was only 27 years old, she played the lead role in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, one of the most iconic films in her career due to a scene that has since gone down in history. The one in which she sings “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” in a bold and evocative pink gown, surrounded by gentlemen.

In addition to the coterie of dancers behind Marilyn Monroe as Lorelei Lee with unique choreography, the dress that the starlet wore as the main attire of her look has become one of the most epic looks of all time.

It should be observed that Marilyn Monroe’s pink dress was not simple in design, and it was precisely this that gripped the seventh art: the satin dress was long pink with a strapless straight decolletage, bare arms, and a back slit.

The dress was deemed “inappropriate” by many people in the industry, despite its legendary significance even 70 years later.