With its ever-changing and often outré dress code, the Met Gala is the source of some of the most iconic – and most out-there – red carpet moments of all time.
Remember Rihanna’s so-called ‘omelette’ dress by Chinese couturier Guo Pei? Sarah Jessica Parker’s flaming headpiece? Pretty much everything that Lady Gaga has ever worn to the Costume Institute? On the first Monday in May, the Met’s steps are one place where sartorially, anything goes – and next year’s theme could see things getting even weirder.
As rumours from the fashion industry suggested, the subject of the Met’s spring costume exhibition will be none other than Rei Kawakubo, the enigmatic and reclusive designer behind Japanese label Comme Des Garcons and concept store Dover Street Market. So, it follows that the annual Ball (one of the biggest events in the fashion calendar) will take Kawakubo’s oeuvre as its theme.
One of contemporary fashion’s truly avant garde designers, Kawakubo is famed for her radical, directional designs which focus on structure and play with proportions and bold prints. She’s inspired the likes of Marc Jacobs – and it’s no surprise that her work is favoured by fearless A-listers like Rihanna and Gaga.
According to WWD, the planned showcase will be on a similar scale to 2013’s colossal Alexander McQueen retrospective, Savage Beauty, which became one of the museum’s most visited exhibitions of all time.
This is only the second time in the Met’s history that an exhibition has been devoted to a living fashion designer. The last was an in-depth retrospective of Yves Saint Laurent, organised by legendary Vogue editor Diana Vreeland in 1983.
The next Met Gala will take place on May 1, 2017 with Kawakubo acting as honorary chair alongside singers Katy Perry and Pharrell Williams.
Bring on the tent dresses and the deconstructed knitwear, we say…
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