In 1883, Alice Claypool Vanderbilt attended her daughter-in-law’s famous masquerade party in a dazzling gold and silver dress, commissioned by Paris, called Electric Light, full of hidden batteries that illuminated the torch she held over her head.
Today’s A-listers hope to generate their own electricity at the Met Gala on Monday night, the dress code for which is “glitter”. Yet instead of avant-garde dresses like Ms. Vanderbilt’s, some insiders fear that attendees will embrace the most playful aspects of Manhattan society since the late 19th century. Will the costumes look like the costumes in the popular HBO series The Gilded Age, in which Carrie Coon’s climbing swan Bertha walks around her mansion on Fifth Avenue in fashion?
Although the glamor helped make Anna Wintour’s annual Met Gala the most anticipated red carpet of the year – “It’s a bigger deal than the Oscars,” said Christina Pacelli, who dressed celebrities like Lauren Cox for the big night – some observers say that the outfits have become too flashy.
In 1996, Princess Diana attended a gala in an elegant Dior dress. Bertrand Rindoff Petroff / Getty Images
“It’s turned into a costume party,” said Amy Odell, a designer and honorary gala chairman, to journalist Amy Odell in her book Anna: The Biography, which came out on Tuesday.
“[It] they were just very chic people dressed in very beautiful clothes, going to an exhibition for the 18th century, “Ford continued. “You shouldn’t have looked like you did in the 18th century, you shouldn’t have dressed like a hamburger, you shouldn’t have arrived in the van you’re getting on because you can’t sit down because you’re wearing a chandelier.”
Ford may have a slightly idealized view of the gala of the past – at least one man showed up at a 1981 ball themed for the Eighteenth Century Woman in knee-length breeches! But the clothes and themes became scarier in the days since Princess Diana was present in a shiny Dior dress.
Designer Gianni Versace and model Naomi Campbell at the 1995 Jean Gene Show / Getty Images
In recent years, Rihanna has been wearing a papal hat for the 2018 Heavenly Bodies, Jared Leto is wearing a replica of his own head for the 2019 Camp, and Lil Nas X is modeling a sexy C-3PO suit for last year’s American Independence which he threw himself to reveal a shiny Versace jumpsuit underneath.
And so you don’t think Ford is exaggerating, Katy Perry did wear a chandelier and a hamburger suit that night.
Katy Perry wore a hamburger suit in 2019. Kevin Mazur / Getty Images
“It’s a lot of Halloween”
“Some of the things Kim Kardashian wore – I mean, it’s a lot of Halloween,” said John Tiffany, a fashion historian and brand consultant who once helped Eleanor Lambert, the legendary fashion journalist who invented the first benefit of Met Costume Institute, then named the Party of the Year in 1948. Back then, Tiffany said, the party was a fundraising dinner, but in the 1970s, when newly fired Vogue editor Diana Vreeland began running the Institute for costumes, the gala dinner became associated with any fashion The museum was opening an exhibition “which have always been completely superb.”
“It’s always been a creative party,” said Denita Sewell, a professor of fashion at Arizona State University who worked at the Costume Institute in the 1990s, when lower-level officials could attend the party. . “People have always dressed, but it wasn’t that extreme. No one would do something that isn’t graceful and elegant.”
Kim Kardashian at the Balenciaga in 2021. Justin Lane / EPA
“The topics were noted,” she added, “but it wasn’t that the whole party was competing with the exhibition.”
Sometimes it can feel that way.
“It went from an industry event celebrating fashion history to a celebrity celebration,” stylist Tracy Taylor told The Post. “Designers were really the focus of the gala in the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century: Alexander McQueen, Halston – Halston would never design something you can’t sit in!” But lately, the focus has been on themes, and I have a feeling that this encourages more extreme interpretations and outfits.
Last year, Lil Nas X wore a sexy C3PO suit for American Independence, which she threw to reveal a shiny Versace jumpsuit underneath. Mike Coppola / Getty Images
The list of invitations has changed to include more celebrities – especially in recent years musicians who are used to wearing costumes on stage and often treat fashion as a performance.
“When you’re a musician like Rihanna, it’s not so unusual to look unusual,” Taylor said. “They’re expected to be a little more flamboyant or really creative and show who they are by the way they dress.” And this translates to the red carpet.
Jared Leto is holding a replica of his own in 2019. This year’s theme was “Camp”. Karwai Tang / Getty Images
Gilded dispute
“Gold Glitter” is a dress code that allows for many different interpretations – from a corset dress with a huge fuss and sections from gorgeous taffeta to shiny gold lame fabric to a dress with sequins – and many ways to increase the price.
The gilded era was one of “huge growth and wealth due to industrialization and real estate, and the dresses reflected that wealth,” Taylor said. “It was for these new celebrities and peacocks, and that’s why it’s the Met Gala.”
Still, he could be read as deaf. The 1870-1900 era is also characterized by extreme poverty – exploited immigrant families living in crowded, unhygienic homes on the Lower East Side, while the Titans on Fifth Avenue dined with oysters and lobster in their Parisian fashion (modeled , perverse about 17th-century French court fashion).
Rihanna put on the Pope’s hat for “Heavenly Bodies” in 2018, Carlo Allegri / REUTERS
“The world is on the move,” said Bronwyn Cosgrave, host of the Fashion Conversations podcast, citing the war in Ukraine and the rise in violence in the United States. “In New York, where the Met Gala is taking place, there are huge problems with homelessness, mental health problems… I’m not sure gilding is what we need.”
Others argue that this is exactly what is needed at the moment.
“When times are tough, people turn to fantasy,” Phyllis Magidson, a fashion curator who works with the New York City Museum, told The Post.
Carrie Coon plays Bertha, who climbs in public, in the popular HBO series The Gilded Age. Photo by Alison Rose / HBO
“Everyone is beaten up and what better way to escape the age of fashion?”
Some of those present also embraced the magnificent theme of the gala.
“I think dressing up is part of the fun, personally,” Katy Perry’s stylist, Tatiana Waterford, told The Post. “Katie always dresses on the subject. But she has always had a distinctive sense of style that lends itself to a superb look at the Met Gala. ”
However, even Perry plans to ease things this year. “She won’t look weird, but this is Katie, so there will be no shortage of drama,” Waterford said. “I wish I could reveal more, but you’ll just have to wait and see!”
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