Tonight’s MET Gala is About More Than Gilded Glad Rags

Tonight the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York will celebrate fashion as an art form. It’s Gala theme is “Gilded Glamour“. The event is part of a greater exhibit  “In America: An Anthology of Fashion ” . The exhibit will be open to the public May, 7th through September, 5th, 2022.

This afternoon, First Lady Dr.Jill Biden attended a preview of the event. The MET’s Charles Engelhard Court, adorned with shimmer and statuary was a perfect setting to launch a new and exciting visual commentary on the sartorial arts. It’s glass atrium serves as the glamorous entrance into the American Wing and a thoughtfully articulated exhibition on fashion’s many lessons.

 

 

Before seeing the exhibit Dr. Biden spoke to a group of reporters and fashionistas whose creativity and intellectual gravitas have colored-coded pillars of the dynamic industry. The First Lady said of fashion:

“No matter the words we choose or the speeches we give, the world sees the totality of who we are….. And that includes what we wear.  Beautiful or dissonant, finely crafted or thrown together – our style helps us express things we can’t put into words. We reveal and conceal who we are with symbols and shapes, colors and cuts – and who creates them. The story of American design is rich and deep. It is a story of innovation and ingenuity, of rebellion and renewal. It has often been written by those in the shadows, not recognized for their influence and art.  But here at the MET, their stories are told. Their voices are raised and their work can shine.”

The Costume Institute of the MET was founded in 1946, it’s dedicated to collecting masterworks of High Fashion. Rich in aesthetic and technical qualities, the mandate of each piece serves as a translation of an era’s ethos. The collections speak to an evolution of thought and global sensibilities. Between the seams of style-preferences visitors can trace the pattern of cultural norms and social aspirations.

Tonight’s Gala is an important event for the self-funding Costume Institute. Raising millions of dollars, it has become a major fashion and cultural spectacle that aids documentation and understanding of costume’s subliminal messaging.  Andrew Bolton, an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Art in London and the MET’s Curator-in-Chief of the Costume Institute organized galleries within the American Wing to honor the history of fashion and detail stories of unsung heroes of the art form. These visual dialogues of texture thread valuable context into the syntax of contemporary design.

 

In the permanent collection of the Costume Institute, translations of sartorial energies echo tensions between nostalgia and technological advancements, hand-craftsmanship and mass-productions as well as an obligation to conceal versus an urge to reveal.

 

 

 

By design, the accent of this craft is broadening. It’s fashion-forward e-motions are representative of boundary challenges, that are more accepting of contemporary culture and gender fluidity.  Found and recycled materials speak to a conservationist definition of Lux and the moral inclination to live a more sustainable life. The once linear vision of ‘fashionable’ is being replaced with notions of experimentation, orientation and humor.

Whenever you can, unfold your passion for fashion at the MET’s Costume Institute. The galleries unravel tales of war, political progress, and a vision of the future, ~ seamlessly!