Couture Comes To The Met

Couture Comes To The Met

By:  Hope Wilkos, Writer

Haute Couture made a comeback this past week as the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art  were doused in Red Carpet and you could sense the smell of fine fashion in the air. On Monday evening, May 4, 2015, the time had once again come for the customary Met Gala on the upper East Side of New York City with a back view of Central Park. This signaled the arrival of the newest exhibition, ‘China: Through The Looking Glass’ , opening to the public on Thursday, May 7, 2015, in the Chinese Galleries of the museum and the Anna Wintour Costume Center. The elegant theme of the evening is set by the exhibition each year. This year, some of the most unique and decadent gowns were daringly worn and complimented with unusual yet theme-rendering headdresses.

A celebrity is truly christened a real star when the crowds all gather to admire, from afar, he or she walk the paparazzi-lined steps to start an evening of revelry and philanthropy. This year, one of the most favored designers of the evening was , a true testament to the evolution of fashion over a decade. The beauty and glamour of his gowns and the way in which they flatter a woman’s curves was evident on Kate Hudson, Hailee Steinfeld, Elizabeth Banks, Aerin Lauder, Candice Swanepoel, just to name a few.

Jennifer Lopez, Beyonce’ and Kim Kardashian tested the waters in barely there gowns that sparkled with the magic of dazzling jewels. The designers inspired to create these sultry and slightly seductive gowns were Givenchy, Roberto Cavalli and Versace.

The cutout dress is becoming a trendsetter for sure and Kendall Jenner and Miley Cyrus showed us how to pull it off effortlessly.

Courtesy of Getty Images

Cher took the theme ‘China: Through The Looking Glass’ to heart as the design of her gown followed Chinese culture and right by her side was the creator of the gown and its inner meaning, the very influential Marc Jacobs.

Courtesy of Getty Images

Making a grand entrance, Rihanna stole the show, a burst of sunshine in a tremendously long gold fur cape with accompanying headpiece to drive the theme home. The outfit was designed by Chinese Couture designer, Guo Pei, best known for designing the costumes seen at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Rihanna’s gorgeous gown symbolized prestige, a perfect fit for the attention-grabbing entertainer.

Stealing the spotlight on the men’s side was the unpredictable and, slightly more mature, Justin Bieber. He was handsomely dressed in a black dinner jacket, intricately interlaid with golden dragons, a design by Balmain.

Courtesy of Getty Images

Lady Gaga always goes that extra mile to be seen and this evening was no different. Wearing black and white, her kimono-style gown was embellished with black feathers and atop her head was a black empress headdress.

Courtesy of Getty Images

The question of the evening was directed to Solange Knowles. Did she want to show up her sister by wearing a 3D creation by Giles?

Last year’s co-chair, Sarah Jessica Parker, kept her fashionable image intact in a more practical black gown by H&M, but, added a touch of Chinese tradition with a brilliantly colored poppy-embroidered cape and a flaming red headdress by Philip Treacy, a designer who has contributed to a new MAC collection.

Courtesy of Getty Images

The most stylish editor-in-chief and working diligently to make the gala a huge success, Anna Wintour walked the Red Carpet proudly in a gown of fiery red, a Chanel Haute Couture design.

All the allure and prestige of the gala was second in line to the real reason that these elite guests came together. In addition to marking the arrival of a new fashion exhibition at the MET, this is the one time of the year that a charity benefit is held to raise money for the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Anna Wintour Costume Center. Millions of dollars have been raised to date as we look back upon the years.  This supports new acquisitions, circulation of publications and capital improvements.

Image:  Evening dress, Roberto Cavalli (Italian, born 1940), fall/winter 2005–6. 
Photography © Platon

So what is this exhibition all about? Presented in the Museum’s Chinese Galleries and Anna Wintour Costume Center, the exhibition will explore the impact of Chinese aesthetics on Western fashion and how China has fueled the fashionable imagination for centuries.  In this collaboration between The Costume Institute and the Department of Asian Art, high fashion will be juxtaposed with Chinese costumes, paintings, porcelains, and other art, including films, to reveal enchanting reflections of Chinese imagery. The exhibition is made possible by YAHOO along with Conde’ Nast and several Chinese donors.   China: Through the Looking Glass will feature more than 140 examples of haute couture and avant-garde ready-to-wear alongside masterpieces of Chinese art.  Filmic representations of China will be mixed throughout the exhibition to reveal how our visions of China are shaped by narratives that draw upon popular culture, and to recognize the importance of cinema as a medium through which we understand the richness of Chinese history.

The Anna Wintour Costume Center’s Lizzie and Jonathan Tisch Gallery will present a series of “mirrored reflections” focusing on Imperial China; the Republic of China, especially Shanghai in the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s; and the People’s Republic of China.  These reflections, as well as others in the exhibition, will be illustrated with scenes from films by such groundbreaking Chinese directors as Zhang Yimou, Chen Kaige, Ang Lee, and Wong Kar Wai.  Distinct vignettes will be devoted to “women of style,” including Hu Die (known as Butterfly Wu), Oei Huilan (the former Madame Wellington Koo), and Soong May-Ling (Madame Chiang Kai-shek).

Directly above the Anna Wintour Costume Center, the Chinese Galleries on the second floor will showcase fashion from the 1700s to the present, juxtaposed with decorative arts from Imperial China, including jade, bronze, lacquer, and blue-and-white porcelain, mostly drawn from the Met’s collection.  The Astor Court will feature a thematic vignette dedicated to Chinese opera, focusing on John Galliano’s spring 2003 Christian Dior Haute Couture Collection.

The prominent designers in the exhibition include Cristobal Balenciaga, Travis Banton, Bulgari, Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen, Callot Soeurs, Cartier, Roberto Cavalli, Coco Chanel, Christian Dior, Tom Ford for Yves Saint Laurent, John Galliano for Christian Dior, Jean Paul Gaultier, Valentino Garavani, Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Picciolo for Valentino, Craig Green, Guo Pei, Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton, Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel, Jeanne Lanvin, Ralph Lauren, Christian Louboutin, Martin Margiela, Alexander McQueen, Alexander McQueen for Givenchy, Edward Molyneux, Kate and Laura Mulleavy, Dries van Noten, Jean Patou, Paul Poiret, Yves Saint Laurent, Paul Smith, Van Cleef & Arpels, Vivienne Tam, Giambattista Valli, Vivienne Westwood, Jason Wu, and Laurence Xu.
Courtesy of Getty Images

All those vastly interested in fashion and the legendary Metropolitan Museum of Art are invited to attend the exhibition which will run through August 16, 2015, at the Chinese Galleries and Anna Wintour Costume Center within the MET. Hours are 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., Friday and Saturday and 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Sunday through Thursday.

See the way in which culture has had an impact on the fashion world by stepping into ‘China: Through The Looking Glass.’

Courtesy of Getty Images