TikTok star Corey O’Brien is keeping up with the Kardashians by DIY’ing their wildest styles.
The moment Kim Kardashian hit the Met Gala 2022 red carpet in Marilyn Monroe’s “Happy Birthday, Mr. President” dress, O’Brien started plotting how to recreate the iconic ensemble from the comfort of his own home.
“I saved a bunch of photos and videos of the outfit, scene by scene, and then went on the hunt. With how beautiful the gown is and its history, I was extremely meticulous with everything,” O’Brien tells Page Six Style.
“No one can outdo Kim or the late Marilyn Monroe, but I wanted to do something that paid homage to their beauty and their perseverance, wit, and timelessness, all while being true to myself and my followers.”
Ultimately, the social media creator used a $12 Forever 21 dress and more than 350 rhinestones from Michael’s to DIY Kardashian’s sparkly style.
“You can make a quality look without a huge quantity of money,” he quips.
And O’Brien didn’t forget about accessories: “I superglued a strip of rhinestones together to create the earrings, and used paper towels as her white shawl,” he says. “It took a while to get everything just right, but I’ve become quite a budget atelier.”
To complete the effect, O’Brien even dressed up as Kardashian’s boyfriend, “SNL” star Pete Davidson, who helped her up the Met Gala steps in Monroe’s original Jean Louis gown.
Kim Kardashian walked the red carpet with boyfriend Pete Davidson by her side. Patrick McMullan via Getty Image“How did you get into Marilyn’s dress?” one of O’Brien’s followers joked in the comments — referring, of course, to how Kardashian lost 16 pounds in just a few weeks to fit into the museum piece, which couldn’t be altered.
O’Brien, who’s dating NFL free agent Ryan Russell, has racked up more than one million TikTok followers with his tongue-in-cheek (and cheap) dupes of celeb looks.
A professional dancer by trade, he pivoted from live shows to TikTok during the pandemic, telling us, “COVID-19 forced us to rethink and rework our lives as performers.”
In November 2021, he posted his first celeb outfit recreation, making like Dua Lipa in a black tank top and short shorts; since then, he’s put his own spin on everything from Miley Cyrus’ silver chainmail separates to Shakira’s “She Wolf” catsuit.
His over-the-top recreations of luxury designer looks made with dollar-store items also include a few tributes to Britney Spears, whom he calls “the reason I started dancing as a kid” — including her unforgettable red “Oops!… I Did It Again” onesie.
And the celebs inspiring O’Brien’s DIYs have are taking notice; Lizzo, Mandy Moore, Kim Petras, Ellie Goulding and — in a full-circle moment — Dua Lipa are among the stars who’ve engaged with his content.
O’Brien cosplayed both Davidson and Kardashian in full Met Gala mode.coreyobrien/TikTokThe TikToker has a few more Met Gala style recreations still in the works, including Kylie Jenner’s wedding dress, Blake Lively’s ode to the Statue of Liberty and Lizzo’s Thom Browne gown, which took 22,000 hours to create.
“Social media has become a contest of who can be the prettiest or most muscular, but I’ve been able to create a space where I can dance, make a fun outfit, laugh, and have a good time, and I think we could all use more of that in our lives,” he says.
“When my flight attendant or a barista tells me how much they love my videos and what I create, it makes it all worth it. I love that just by being an out gay man dancing and having fun with fashion, I get to make others feel seen.”
Corey O’Brien working on his Kim Kardashian recreation with a little help from the craft store.Corey O'Brien
