Marilyn Monroe on the Catwalk: How Designers Have Been Inspired by the Blonde Bombshell

It took a wild dream and a clever studio executive to turn the orphan Norma Jeane Mortensen into Marilyn Monroe. As Marilyn, she became the ultimate bombshell—dazzling on screen and forever etched into the public imagination. With her platinum blonde curls and heavy-lidded eyes, she’s made her way into art and, after her death, onto countless runways. Now, on the 100th anniversary of her birth, we look at how designers have borrowed some of her star power.

An AI search revealed that, to a cold machine, Monroe’s face and hair are her most defining features. It’s that unmistakable look, as captured by Andy Warhol—both as a silkscreened artwork and in his own photographic portrait of Marilyn—that designers have adapted again and again. Most famously, Gianni Versace did it in 1990, and Donatella Versace reissued it in 2017 for a new generation. For a menswear collection built around “creative provocateurs,” it was Dries Van Noten who used blown-up photo prints of Monroe on T-shirts, button-ups, and jackets. Many others, including Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, couldn’t resist the siren call of a portrait dress featuring that instantly recognizable face. Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana are among Marilyn’s biggest fashion fans, and to prove it, they’ve shown at least three collections referencing her. Perhaps their wittiest was for spring 1992, when they recreated a revenge dress made from a burlap potato sack—the one Monroe wore in response to a rude comment about her style.

Thierry Mugler and Alexander McQueen are among those who have reimagined Monroe’s stage costumes, especially the famous white halter dress from The Seven Year Itch and the dressier looks from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. The most abstract take on Marilyn’s style comes from Jean Paul Gaultier, who in 1984 (before Madonna) designed cone bras—a 1950s silhouette Monroe made the most of—in cartoonish proportions. They were as exaggerated, in their own way, as the Monroe myth, which only grows with time.

Yves Saint Laurent, spring 1990 couture
Photo: Victor Virgile / Getty Images
With this collection, according to the Musée Yves Saint Laurent Paris, the designer “paid tribute to the figures he admired, including Marilyn Monroe, Catherine Deneuve, Zizi Jeanmaire, Marcel Proust, Bernard Buffet, and Christian Dior.”

Marilyn Monroe, June 15, 1961.
Photo: Hulton Archive / Getty Images

Jean Paul Gaultier, fall 1984 ready-to-wear
Photo: Penske Media / Getty Images

Versace, spring 1991 ready-to-wear
Photo: Condé Nast Archive

Marilyn Monroe wearing a potato sack dress, circa 1952.
Bettmann

Dolce & Gabbana, spring 1992 ready-to-wear
Photo: Condé Nast Archive

“Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend,” 1953.
Photo: Hulton Archive / Getty Images

Thierry Mugler, fall 1995 couture
Photo: Victor Virgile / Getty Images

Thierry Mugler, fall 1995 couture
Photo: Condé Nast Archive

Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, 1953.
©20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection

Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, fall 1997 ready-to-wear
Photo: Daniel Simon / Getty Images

Philip Treacy, spring 2003 couture
Photo: Olivier Claisse

Alexander McQueen, fall 2005 ready-to-wear
Photo: Marcio Madeira

“Tippi Hedren and Marilyn Monroe. Biker molls and sweater girls. You got it: Alexander McQueen went to the sixties, all the way, for fall. With its borrowed movie and rock ‘n’ roll themes, the collection read as a knowing vehicle, a McQueen director’s cut,” wrote Sarah Mower of the designer’s fall 2005 show.

Dolce & Gabbana, fall 2009 ready-to-wear
Photo: Marcio Madeira

Prabal Gurung, spring 2014 ready-to-wear
Photo: Marcus Tondo / Indigitalimages.com

For spring 2014, Prabal Gurung’s muse, reported Nicole Phelps, was Marilyn M.Monroe. “It’s a celebration of the elegant woman—she’s becoming an endangered species,” he said before his show. “I wanted to place her in a modern setting.” This season, Gurung’s ideal woman comes with an edge. His mood board included Monroe’s final photo session with Bert Stern. And roses. —Nicole Phelps

Max Mara, fall 2015 ready-to-wear
indigitalimages.com

“The Max Mara team found the perfect muse for Fall: Marilyn Monroe, inspired by the photos George Barris took of her on the beach in 1962.” —Nicole Phelps

Dries Van Noten, spring 2016 menswear
Photo: Yannis Vlamos / Indigitalimages.com

Dries Van Noten, spring 2016 menswear
Photo: Patrick Kovarik / Getty Images

Dries Van Noten, spring 2016 menswear
Photo: Yannis Vlamos / Indigitalimages.com

“Van Noten used Marilyn on everything from a double-breasted suit to boxing shorts and a roomy poncho,” wrote Tim Blanks. “Knitwear featured one of MM’s eyes and her lips, inspired by Erwin Blumenfeld’s classic 1950 Vogue cover. A polo shirt had a photo print of a beautiful, touching poolside shot.”

Moschino, spring 2017 ready-to-wear
Photo: Yannis Vlamos / Indigital.tv

Versace, spring 2018 ready-to-wear
Photo: Yannis Vlamos / Indigital.tv

“…for the first time since taking over creative direction, Donatella Versace went straight to the archives for key prints and pieces from 1991 to 1995—the years of Gianni Versace’s most iconic collections: Vogue, Warhol, My Friend Elton, Icons, Baroque, Animalia, Native Americans, Tresor de la Mer, Metal Mesh, and Butterflies.” —Sally Singer

Loewe, fall 2019 menswear
Photo: Filippo Fior / Gorunway.com

Christopher Kane, pre-fall 2019
Photo: Laurence Ellis / Courtesy of Christopher Kane

“Sexual symbolism and playful naughtiness have been clear in Kane’s shows since he referenced suburban Madam Cynthia Payne in Spring 2017. With this collection, he explored his obsession with Marilyn Monroe, using her voice in a recent runway show and quoting her: ‘Sex is part of nature. I go along with nature.’ That led to a Monroe-with-a-kitten print on a pink duchesse satin top—‘because she was known as an animal lover’—and then a flurry of coded nods to ’50s clichés, from hand-drawn polka dots and boudoir negligees to ladylike pearls.” —Sarah Mower

Junya Watanabe, spring 2023 menswear
Photo: Filippo Fior / Gorunway.com

Comme des Garçons Shirt, spring 2024 menswear
Photo: Isidore Montag / Gorunway.com

“Comme des Garçons Shirt teamed up with the Andy Warhol Foundation for its latest collection. This is the big news for spring, and fans of both the brand and the artist will be thrilled with the result: Graphic color-block Oxford shirts with bits and panels of reproduced Warhol works (including Marilyn Monroe) stood out against white tees with the same images (plus added text, like Monroe’s quote, ‘Dogs don’t bite me. Just humans.’).” —Nick Remsen

Marc Jacobs, fall 2024 ready-to-wear
Photo: Courtesy of Marc Jacobs

“‘I believe in living with authenticity—free from validation and permission of absurd conservatism and societal norms.’ Marc Jacobs said he was after ‘joy, period’ at his show tonight. It lasted only six minutes—a short, sharp shock—but it made a huge impression. I saw Marilyn Monroe in her iconic subway grate dress from The Seven Year Itch, Minnie Mouse in her red-and-white polka dots, and princess gowns from a Disney classic. There were other references for different eyes, but there’s no doubt this was a collection full of main character energy.” —Nicole Phelps

Études Studio, spring 2025 menswear
Photo: Courtesy of Études

Dolce & Gabbana, spring 2025 ready-to-wear
Photo: Isidore Montag / Gorunway.com

“Their idea for spring was to take us to the movies; they channeled cinema’s most glamorous blondes—Marilyn Monroe, Monica Vitti, Marlene Dietrich—with platinum wigs, pin-up dresses, and rigid-cupped bras. Between quiet luxury and bullet bras, there’s no competition.” —Nicole Phelps

Laura Gerte, fall 2026 ready-to-wear
Photo: James Cochrane / Courtesy of Berlin Fashion Week

Frequently Asked Questions
Here is a list of FAQs about Marilyn Monroe on the Catwalk How Designers Have Been Inspired by the Blonde Bombshell written in a natural tone with direct answers

BeginnerLevel Questions

1 What does Marilyn Monroe on the catwalk actually mean
It means looking at how famous fashion designers have used Marilyn Monroes iconic style looks and attitude as inspiration for their clothing collections and runway shows

2 Why is Marilyn Monroe such a big deal in fashion
She defined a specific kind of glamour in the 1950scurvy confident and sexy but also playful Her style is instantly recognizable and still feels modern today

3 Can you name a famous example of a designer inspired by her
Yes Tom Ford is a great example His collections often feature tight sexy dresses bold red lips and a sleek Hollywoodglamour vibe that is very Monroe

4 Is it just about copying her white dress from The Seven Year Itch
No not at all While that dress is iconic designers take inspiration from her whole persona her platinum blonde hair her red lipstick her curvy silhouette and her confident playful attitude

5 What does blonde bombshell mean in this context
Its a term for a very attractive glamorous and often sexy blonde woman For fashion it means a look that is bold eyecatching and full of star power just like Marilyn

IntermediateLevel Questions

6 How do modern designers update Marilyns 1950s look for today
They usually take one elementlike a fitted bodice a high slit or the color redand mix it with modern shapes fabrics or streetwear details They make it feel fresh not like a costume

7 Which specific designers are most famous for using Marilyn as a muse
Besides Tom Ford Versace is a huge one Dolce Gabbana often channel her 1950s Italian glamour Marc Jacobs has also done collections that play with her exaggerated femininity