The Met Gala Red Carpet is Now Live! Here's a First Look at the New Costume Institute Exhibition!
Martin Scorsese, Tom Ford, Sofia Coppola, Chloé Zhao, and Regina King are among the nine directors who helped design the exhibition...
I always look forward to the first Monday in May.
Some of you know that tonight is the Met Gala – the internet-breaking event that’s known as “The Party of The Year.”
Source: Vogue
The biggest night in fashion.
What many people don’t realize is that the gala also celebrates the opening of the new Costume Institute exhibition.
On Saturday, the public will get its first look at In America: An Anthology of Fashion – the second part of a yearlong exhibition dedicated to American fashion.
Source: @metmuseum
This morning, I attended a press preview, which included remarks by the Costume Institute’s Wendy Yu Curator in Charge Andrew Bolton and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden.
Source: Getty Images
Source: Getty Images
Dr. Biden said, “Our style helps us express things that can’t be put in words.”
Case in point, she talked about the State of Union a few months back.
As her husband, the President, prepared his address, she said she knew that “the only thing that would be reported about me was what I was wearing.”
So, “I ordered sunflower appliqués, the flower of Ukraine, and I had one sewn on the cuff of my dress.”
Source: Getty Images
Source: Getty Images
In America: An Anthology of Fashion is about celebrating “the work of designers who have been forgotten, overlooked, or relegated to a footnote,” says Bolton.
Among the 100 items on display: a coat worn by George Washington to his first inauguration.
And two coats by Brooks Brothers – one worn by Abraham Lincoln when he was assassinated and the other worn by an enslaved man.
The exhibition unfolds across 13 of the American period rooms – each room presented in the form of a cinematic vignette, directed by some of the biggest names in Hollywood.
Martin Scorsese dreamt up a glamorous cocktail party in this 20th century living room designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.
Photos and video by Alina Cho
The mannequins were dressed in gowns by Charles James.
This is Tom Ford’s take on the Battle of Versailles – the famous 1973 showdown between top American and European designers.
Source: Vogue
A battle in which the ultimate underdog – the Americans – shocked the world and won.
Photo by Alina Cho
Oscar-winning Nomadland director, Chloé Zhao, had this take on Shaker life...
Source: Vogue
Featuring audio by Frances McDormand and dresses by Claire McCardell.
Sofia Coppola called on her famous artist friends, Rachel Feinstein and John Currin, to create unique faces on the mannequins.
Source: Vogue
Source: Vogue
Regina King’s room featured the “power and strength” of the work of Fannie Criss Payne.
Photo by Alina Cho
Payne was born in 1876 to former slaves.
The exhibition also highlights designers like Ann Lowe, who created one of the most famous dresses in history: Jacqueline Kennedy’s wedding gown.
At the time, Lowe – a black woman – was largely written out of the moment.
Forgotten stories no more.
In America: An Anthology of Fashion and its companion In America: A Lexicon of Fashion (an exhibition focusing on modern-day American designers) will be on view at the Met through September 5th.
Run, don’t walk.