Marilyn Monroe Dress Recreation at Macmillan Charity Auction
The Marilyn Monroe dress recreation created by textile and embroidery artist Ksenia Semirova in collaboration with Altbes Atelier is now available at the Macmillan Ball 2026 charity auction. Recreating Monroe’s celebrated “Happy Birthday, Mr. President” gown, this one-off, hand-embellished dress has been donated to support Macmillan Cancer Support, with a minimum bid of £2,500.
The auction offers an opportunity to own a meticulously researched, hand-embellished dress that brings a celebrated moment in fashion history into the present.
Recreating Marilyn Monroe’s iconic dress
Marilyn Monroe wore the original gown on 19 May 1962 when she sang “Happy Birthday, Mr. President” to John F. Kennedy at Madison Square Garden. Designed by Jean Louis, with the original fashion sketch drawn by Bob Mackie, the dress became famous for its sheer, skin-toned fabric and shimmering crystal embellishment.
Recreating its appearance required much more than reproducing a silhouette. The original sketch provided a visual idea, rather than a technical pattern or construction instructions. Without access to the original garment, research into photographs, historical references, fabrics and embellishment techniques informed the development of the new dress.
Ksenia’s work involved extensive material experiments and several mock-ups. Achieving the balance of skin tone, transparency and drape required combining different fabrics, while ensuring the delicate base could support thousands of individually sewn crystals. Construction of the final dress alone took approximately three days.
Almost a month of work donated to charity
The hand embellishment was completed by Ksenia. Around 4,000 crystals were individually sewn onto the dress, requiring approximately 160 hours of work before further embellishment was added. This included sustained periods of twelve-hour working days, with each crystal carefully positioned and secured by hand.
Ksenia’s contribution brings together her specialist embroidery expertise and almost a month of production work, all donated in support of Macmillan Cancer Support. This commitment came in addition to the extensive research, material sourcing and experimentation needed to recreate the dress.
The auction listing states that Altbes Atelier estimates the materials and skilled labour at approximately £20,000, with an equivalent commission valued by the atelier at no less than £75,000.
Bid on the dress and support Macmillan
This unique Marilyn Monroe dress recreation is offered to one winning bidder through the Macmillan Ball auction. The finished gown will be presented in an Altbes Atelier garment bag with a branded hanger.
View the dress, read the auction terms and place your bid to support Macmillan Cancer Support.
