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LUXE TREND 59
THE MET GALA 2022 - THE DEVIL WORE CHANEL COUTURE

Gilded Glamour. Reads like a magazine title, doesn’t it? Glossy, expensive, unapproachable. Gilded, not gold-plated. Not even ersatz precious.

Gilded Glamour — in reference to The Gilded Age, when new money was beginning to make New York the center of the universe and Fifth Avenue was getting built up with grand private residences, rivaling French mansions, often by importing the entire contents of existing European houses to build their NY equivalents.

When Fifth Avenue hostesses strategized on how to outdo each other with opulence, with gowns from Worth in Paris, hothouse flowers, and anything outrageously excessive. Labor was cheap, especially service labor.

Right at the epicenter of Fifth Avenue, The Metropolitan Museum of Art is the cultural institution designed from its beginnings to outdo anything conceived on European lands. Massive, and with an equally massive financial endowment, it meant business from the get-go. It was designed to surpass all other cultural institutions in the world in treasure and importance.

Like a doyenne of yesteryear, Ms. Anna Wintour once again presided over the yearly gala for the Costume Institute that also bears her aegis and name. In her pet-pailletted gown (thank you Cole Porter for the lyric), from the top of The Met’s grand staircase, Ms. Wintour peered at the celebrity arrivals; perhaps as a character out of an Edith Wharton novel — similar to how she probably imagines herself.

Ms. Wintour has been Condé Nast’s master-of-the-universe for decades. Relating to Fashion and Press, she has been responsible for many watershed moments in the cultural evolution of this country, and most importantly, for the American idea of Celebrity. 

Ms. Wintour expanded the definition of Celebrity in equal — or even greater — ways than Andy Warhol ever did. For, in our society, Celebrities are indeed Gilded Glamour. Ms. Wintour has ensured the value of the term Celebrity is cemented in the American psyche forevermore.

Celebrity is a word-virus. It infects every host in much the same way Republicans call Democrats Unpatriotic to stigmatize them. Celebrities though, seldom possess any other redeeming quality. They do not have to produce anything, as they are products themselves. Products promoting other products. Ad infinitum.

In the Gilded Trap that became The Met Gala, guests were tasked to play extreme dress up, line up and pose in front of the media like contestants on the Drag Race, for a game of exploitation that might require Edith Wharton herself to put it into historical prose.

But you’re here for the Fashion critique, so here we go:

Upcycling Fashion 

Louis Vuitton’s stable of beauties and celebrities arrived with their own press release. The ensembles were “Upcycled” from previous models and fabrics, reused, recut, and reconfigured. All to save the planet. Missing from the deft PR spin — Karla Otto probably drafted it — was how the clothes arrived in the US. Was it by solar-powered balloon? Did they float on rafts in the ocean for weeks? Can we please see the green credits for this Upcycling?

Despite the PR spin, there were some interesting interpretations of the theme, mostly because Nicolas Ghesquière is a truly talented designer.

Shawn Mendes also arrived with an Upcycled look by Tommy Hilfiger, a color-blocked pea coat over a dark suit. The look was created by reusing old fabric and it was deemed so successful that Tommy Hilfiger is already planning to make it a part of the collection. Quelle surprise! At least this outfit was put together downtown, not across the pond, so, hopefully, no reason to offset it with green credits.

Tone it down, damn it! 

“She’s giving us a red moment.” 

“This is the streetwear moment we’ve been waiting for.” 

“In this time in my life, in this moment, I am overwhelmed by what God is calling on me to do and be in this world.” ( Will Smith’s ludicrous acceptance speech at the academy awards after assaulting Chris Rock).

Fashion is on a quest to create A Moment. Stylists demand it. Celebrities live for it. Luxury Brands are willing to pay for it.

Gucci, Versace, and Balenciaga, please, we’ve had enough. The gender-bending has become tiresome. The convertible glitz is starting to fade. The parka is not interesting as eveningwear and Lycra is not the equivalent of silk faille.

The clever pairing of talent can be just as alluring, as in the case of Priscilla Presley arriving with Austin Butler in Prada; Glenn Close with Pier Paolo Piccioliin Valentino Pink; Alicia Keys and her husband, Swiss Beatz in bejeweled Ralph Lauren.

Here’s a novel idea: It can be Chic as well as Cool.

American Icons  

Well, of course, I mean the Kardashians, who are at the top of the celebrity food chain. They were the last to arrive, a risky act knowing that by then several strobe lights might have already burned out.

Courtney Kardashian arrived with her fiancé, Travis Barker, a shy and rather adorable tattoo, clearly enthralled by the dominatrix persona of Ms. Kardashian. They were both in Thom Brownedeconstructed ensembles. Mr. Browne, who has the added benefit of being Andrew Bolton’s partner (the curator of the exhibit), understood the assignment. Perhaps he also read The Alienist, a dark mystery bestseller set in that era, because his representation at the gala was oozing darkness.

Kim Kardashian wore the famous Happy Birthday dress originally worn by Marilyn Monroe. This act alone could become a Ph.D. thesis on the etymology of American Icon.

“It was Iconic”. “A Fashion Moment.” “She shut it down,” the press exclaimed. KK tried to channel MM. She lost 16 pounds. She wore Lucite platforms because she couldn’t alter the dress (she is shorter than Marilyn). She dyed her hair platinum blond. She licked a sun ray to glow from within. And she brought Pete Davidson because, well, Joe Di Maggio is long gone.

This act of cultural vandalism is the latest attempt by a celebrity to usurp the idea of what makes an American Icon. Surely it is more than the see-through dress. Is it the appropriation of a historical moment when true celebrity was defined by the true cultural accomplishments of the original Icons? What was it that made this appearance so disturbing? Would we be wearing T-shirts with Ms. Kardashian’s face 60 years from now, the same way we are still wearing Marilyn’s likeness?

Perhaps, the answer to that question was peering from the top of the stairs in a Chanel Couture gown.