Am I
the only one who has been highly disappointed with this years Met Gala Ball?
Undoubtedly there were some beautiful dresses that hit the most reputable
fashion red carpet but I felt somewhat deflated with the fashion elites most
recent Gala offering. Almost as frustrated as the Punk theme back in 2014, but
that’s a whole other blog post...
For
weeks New York society has been working itself into a flap about
the theme for the 2016 Met Ball: technology. Designed to draw
attention to the Metropolitan Museum of Art's new exhibition ‘Manus x Machina:
Fashion in an Age of Technology’ the Met's annual sartorial gala promised a
mixture of metal and technology inspired concoctions on pilates-toned living
mannequins. Maybe that is why I’m disappointed: it was exactly what I had expected
and nothing broke the mould. The idea of hate couture is to break out of the everyday,
challenge ideas, express new ones and the general impression of all the dresses
that hit the red carpet were just so…. Uninspiring.
The
Oxford English Dictionary defines Technology as:
1. The branch of knowledge that deals
with the creation and use of technical means and their interrelation with life,
society, and the environment, drawing upon such subjects as industrial arts,
engineering, applied science, and pure science
2. The application of this knowledge
for practical ends
3. the terminology of an art, science,
etc.; technical nomenclature
& 4. a scientific or industrial process, invention, method, or the like..
Technology
is designed to excite, to become the pioneer of new revolutionary ideas and the
dresses, to me, just didn't hit this brief. While I’m not doubting that the dresses
worn were not beautiful and that there wasn’t amazing craftsmanship involved to
create these one-of-a-kind unique pieces of fashion art but is a head to toe
silver sequinned dress really that ground-breaking when a theme of Technology is so vast and unique? I think not.
This
theme could have been the best yet but it fell flat. Previous years’ themes for
example the ‘Punk: Chaos to Couture’, didn’t work because the theme was never
about clothing- Punk was about who you were and what you stood for. The
advances in technology have undoubtedly made an undeniable impression on the
fashion industry- laser cutting, 3D printing, thermo shaping and circular
knitting just to name a few- but were these amazing advancements littered
across the carpet like they should have been? No. Kendall Jenner in sequinned
custom made Balmain- Pretty? Sure. Blake Lively in floral Burberry- Stunning?
Undoubtedly. Amber Heard in satin Ralph Lauren- Beautiful? You bet. Madonna in
Givenchy? I mean that was just plain wrong so I won’t even go there… But these
dresses weren’t the innovative and inspiring work I was so desperate to see.
Maybe
I was thinking too futuristically. In my head I’d imagine the Gala as a
cavalcade of sharp textures, light, fabric and form that would make even
Metropolis film fans swoon. There are so many revolutionary designers that are
using technology to create innovative, futuristic and obscure designs that
excite style tastemakers and budding fashion lovers. Maiko Takeda and his
experimentation with new and recycled materials, Vega Zaishi Wang’s creations
incorporating fabric and light, Iris Van Herpen’s hand-worked materials to
create sharp and digital inspired forms, Ying Gao and sensory interactive
garments or Amelia Agosta’s haute tech collection using innovative techniques
like 3D printing and body scanning. These amazing ideas have been created yet
nothing like this was worn on the biggest event on the fashion calendar. With technology the bigger, more
inspiring, more outrageously ostentatious the better, yet the fashion pack
stuck with the known. Looking pretty prioritised over being thought
provoking... Predictablility favoured being inventive… I guess Claire Danes did the
best with her light up Cinderella-esque dress but this only skimmed the water
with the potential that this theme could have conveyed.
I don’t doubt that the celebrities and their stylists tried to channel bits of
technology into their ensembles. But this was made difficult by the fact that
most of the best technology inspired fashion ideas had been stolen by stylists
and fashionistas and integrated them into the mainstream a while ago. Metallic
makeup, graphic inspired nail art, the use of sequins encasing the human form
like body armour, bleached eyebrows, slick hair, ludicrously high heels and
well, metallic everything: done, done and still being done. Watching current
mainstream icons try to recreate technology style was never really going to
work. I suppose the other way of doing technology would be
to channel some kind of counter-cultural doctrine; even if someone must wear a stunning shimmering ball gown and comply with industry-set standards of
beauty... But that would require someone's celebrity stylist to have an original
thought or idea. I guess they should have got in touch with Ying Gao, Vega
Zaishi Wang and Amelia Agosta and the gang like I originally hoped...
Of
course I will look forward to next years Met Ball- as someone who is obsessed
with all different areas of fashion I will always feel inclined to see what the
latest fashion offering will be- but I hope next year they get it right. I hope
celebrities and fashion enthusiasts indulge in the exciting and intoxicating
areas of fashion that are so diverse and unique instead of skimming the water
with a luke warm nod to the theme involved. While I know this realistically won’t
happen, I’ll keep my fingers crossed that someone will break the mould and lead
the way to new ideas like fashion leaders always should.
What were your thoughts on this year's Met Gala Ball dresses?
A x
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