NEW YORK — On Monday evening, the Metropolitan Museum of Art will transform into a living gallery, as luminaries like Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, and Venus Williams grace its iconic steps. This year’s Met Gala theme, “Fashion is art,” invites these stars to creatively interpret and showcase the symbiotic relationship between fashion and art.
The age-old debate on whether fashion constitutes art ends here, as the dress code for this illustrious event demands guests to embody fashion as a form of artistic expression. No longer just a topic for insiders, this theme is set to be vividly articulated through the attendees’ attire.
Guests are encouraged to demonstrate their personal connections to fashion, exploring it as an artistic medium. This directive promises a wealth of artistic references, as fashion has consistently drawn inspiration from the art world.
As the evening unfolds, the question arises: will attendees opt for archival fashion pieces, rich with history, or will they don custom masterpieces crafted by contemporary fashion houses?
Embodying art
The allure of archival fashion has captivated many red carpet regulars, with a growing desire among style-savvy celebrities to don rare and iconic pieces. Monday promises a dazzling showcase of both past and present fashion artistry, leaving an indelible mark on the confluence of art and fashion.
Archival fashion looks have become a red carpet phenomenon with fashion savvy stars wanting to get their hands on some of the rarer pieces of fashion history.
Designer Elsa Schiaparelli famously collaborated in 1937 with Spanish artist Salvador Dalí to design a white silk dress with a lobster printed on the front. Years later, Yves Saint Laurent would design shift dresses filled with Piet Mondrian’s blocks of color in 1965, and more recently, Marc Jacobs collaborated with artist Takashi Murakami in 2002 to add his designs to Louis Vuitton.
Monday’s carpet is also chance for celebrities to deliver their own performance art.
The late designer Alexander McQueen was heavily regarded by fashion insiders as an artist. He closed his Spring 1999 show with a piece of performance art when machines sprayed Shalom Harlow’s white dress with black and yellow spray paint as she posed on a rotating turntable.
Past Gala dress codes have honored designers and pulled from literature. Last year, the art of tailoring was center stage with the dress code “Tailored for you.” The high-profile event raises money for the museum’s Costume Institute, and each year the dress code for the gala takes cues from the Costume Institute’s spring exhibition.
On display this Spring, the “Costume Art” exhibit will “examine the centrality of the dressed body.”
The relationship between fashion and art has not always been embraced. Art historian and author Nancy Hall-Duncan writes in her book, “Art X Fashion: Fashion Inspired by Art” that in the 19th century, art was perceived as classical and fashion was frivolous.
When Yves Saint Laurent held the Met’s first fashion exhibit in 1983, the exhibit was met with heavy criticism. Since then, the museum has held countless fashion exhibits throughout the years with museums around the world following suit. The Louvre put on its first fashion exhibition “Louvre couture” last year.
The dress code set by Wintour and the Met’s Costume Institute curator, Andrew Bolton, is the final seal of approval that fashion is art, Hall-Duncan told The Associated Press.
“Isn’t that a giant step?” she said. “It will indeed change perceptions.”
How to watch the Met Gala carpet and celebrity looks
Didn’t snag one of the pricey tickets or a spot on the ultra-exclusive guestlist?
The red carpet spectacle is available for all to watch online with the Vogue livestream. Ashley Graham, La La Anthony and Cara Delevingne will be hosting the livestream starting at 6 p.m. with Emma Chamberlain interviewing guests throughout the night.
The Associated Press will have a livestream of celebrities leaving a pair of New York hotels on their way to the gala beginning at 4:30 p.m. on APNews.com and YouTube. It’s the first chance to see what attendees will be wearing before they hit the gala’s carpet.
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