The New York City Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute announced ‘Gilded Glamour and White Tie’ as the theme for the May 2nd Met Gala. The theme highlights a period in American history between 1870 and 1890, emblematic for its fast economical growth (must be nice) and changing fashion.
If we may be honest, though we might have gotten used to designers and celebrities not respecting the Met Gala theme (our biggest frustration, in fact, lies with men in classic black suits - except for Tom Ford, he can do no wrong), we haven’y actually witnessed that many breakthrough moments during this year’s fashion’s biggest night, which is mostly due to Zendaya’s absence, of course.
Sure, we couldn’t help but ogle Blake Lively’s transformer dress by Versace, or not muse about Kim Kardashian pretty much being our generation’s Marilyn Monroe (especially since she wore the ‘Happy Birthday, Mr. President’ Jean Louis dress), yet in our heart of hearts, Wander Art Space really didn’t feel this one gala - we’re just too spoiled by 2016’s Manus x Machina and 2018’s Heavenly Bodies… But let’s avoid diving too deep in pre-pandemic nostalgia - we’re still happy we got our portion of Met judgement anyways, albeit in May. We’ll leave our voting cards at the door though - there are many other blogs that will pass out “best and “worst” awards, but only one that focuses on comparing the extravagant gowns to works of art (us, duh). So let’s get to business, shall we.
All of the fuchsia looks by Valentino made us think of that time Anish Kapoor was banned from using the world’s pinkiest pink back in 2016 (good times, eh?), but Prabal Gurung’s somewhat softer take on hot pink - as seen on Kiki Layne’s - flourished into direct association with Samia Halaby’s Pink Flying Over Pink (2009).
Another Prabal Gurung dress - this time, in a beautiful azure color. The way tulle captures light here is kind of similar to Blue Line (1919) by Georgia O’Keeffe - so vibrant, yet pacifying. Notice how the U-shaped bodice cut is the inversion of the dynamic in the painting.
Can you spot even five differences between Billie Eilish in Gucci and John Singer Sargent’s Madame Paul Poirson (1885)? Because we couldn’t. Bonus points for sticking to the theme. Okay-okay, we said no judging looks!
Not really about the dress, but that shot of Alicia Keys’s Ralph Lauren-adorned profile is just too similar to the strong features depicted in Earth & Sky #3 by African American collage artist Lorna Simpson (2016).
