A Marilyn Obsession

SINCE her death in 1962, Marilyn Monroe, whom Norman Mailer called the American man’s “sweet angel of sex,” has never wandered far from popular imagination or the souvenir shop. Yet with the 50th anniversary of Ms. Monroe’s mysterious death approaching, her image is experiencing something of a cultural moment, even by ageless icon standards.

Suddenly Marilyn is everywhere. For starters, there is the October cover of Vogue (below). Actually that is Michelle Williams, who is staring in a biopic, “My Week With Marilyn,” due out Nov. 4, and who posed as Monroe’s likeness in an Annie Leibovitz photo series for the magazine. Then there is “Marilyn: Intimate Exposures,” a book by Susan Bernard, featuring unpublished photos by her father, Bruno (of billowing-skirt-shot fame), to be released Oct. 4. In February, a new NBC series, “Smash,” about a fictional Monroe-themed Broadway musical, will make its debut.

Monroe’s new ubiquity is partly by design. In December, Authentic Brands Group, which is based in New York, acquired exclusive rights to Monroe’s likeness, image and estate. This summer, the group consolidated those rights with several photographic portfolios, including Mr. Bernard’s, along with rights to products like a Marilyn Monroe line of Nova Wines, lingerie by Dreamwear and merchandise by the skateboard company Alien Workshop.

“You don’t have 52 Marilyn Monroes out there from a packaging standpoint, you have one,” said Jamie Salter, the company’s chief executive, who said his goal was, in part, to take Monroe’s image upscale.

With that prerogative, the company has been free to license new Monroe-themed products and campaigns, starting with a Christian Dior ad campaign featuring Charlize Theron, who encounters Marilyn in a dressing room, that had its debut during the Emmys broadcast. Other projects in the works, Mr. Salter said, include a Dolce & Gabbana line due in spring; an expanded Marilyn Monroe line of Gerard Darel apparel as well as Marilyn footwear, handbags and cosmetics; two television series; and possibly film roles played by a digitally ersatz Monroe.

The moment is nothing if not ripe, as evidenced at the recent Emmy Awards, the showpiece of an industry scrambling to replicate the crisp, early 1960s elegance of “Mad Men.” Tracey Moulton, a Los Angeles-based stylist, said she felt compelled to dress Julia Stiles in classic Hollywood fashion for the Emmys. “My first instinct was to do something that really accentuated her body, that was super elegant and simple and highlighted her femininity,” she said of the long, form-fitting, gossamer gown from Georges Hobeika Couture that she chose for her.

But does such a widespread presence risk diminishing Monroe’s value and allure? Michael Levine, the author of several books on branding, whose Los Angeles-based public relations company has represented celebrities like Michael Jackson, David Bowie and Cameron Diaz, thought it was “a very good idea” to go broad, as Mr. Salter is doing. “The world today requires that a brand be hyper-present to break through the onslaught of data smog,” he said. “Out of sight out of mind has never been more true than today.” AUSTIN CONSIDINE