On display
Filmmaker Andrew Rossi documents the planning of a hit fashion exhibition and the 2015 Met Gala in The First Monday in May.
Vogue: You gained unprecedented access to Anna Wintour and the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute head curator Andrew Bolton during the creation of the China: Through the Looking Glass exhibition and the 2015 Met Gala. What was the experience like?
Andrew Rossi: “I found it interesting to see Anna so engaged in the creative aspects of putting the gala together, her attention to detail, her sense of the chemistry with everyone invited, how the party reflects the exhibition at the museum. It’s a very creative process, and I think she may be viewed as more of a manager or producer, but from what we see in the film I think she is as committed to a creative vision as to the commercial end.”
Vogue: What is the most interesting thing the viewer will discover behind the scenes?
AR: “The exhibition we followed was China: Through the Looking Glass, which presented a fascinating context in which to see how fashion is not just about making clothes. Instead, in the show we see how designers have interpreted Chinese visual symbols to create a fantasy version of Chinese iconography, which they freely manipulate in terms of the fabrics chosen, silhouettes created and visual motifs employed. The designers take an idea about Chinese culture and transform it into an original work, so it shows how the creative process in fashion can be an artistic process. It was wonderful then to see Jean Paul Gaultier tour the exhibition on the night of the gala with singer Alicia Keys, and Michael Kors with Kate Hudson. They were in awe of costumes by Alexander McQueen that showed the influence of Eastern export silk, and garments by Valentino with deep red hues, or works by Tom Ford with imperial yellow. Most surprising for them was to see gowns created by Chinese designer Guo Pei, who also designed the yellow dress worn by Rihanna on the red carpet. In a room of dresses inspired by blue and white porcelain, they assumed that the dresses were by Western designers, and confessed to not having heard of Guo Pei. I hope that audiences will experience a similar revelation about the scope of fashion and its creators.”
Vogue: What was your favourite moment during filming?
AR: “When Rihanna arrived on the red carpet for the Met Gala. She ascends the Met stairs wearing a gold and yellow dress with an enormous train that cascades down the red carpet. [US Vogue’s] André Leon Talley is standing at the top of the stairs watching all the celebrities arrive and commenting on what they are wearing and their place in the culture. When he sees Rihanna, his jaw drops. I think this scene communicates how the red carpet is not just a superficial exercise in attention-grabbing. Rihanna in that moment seems to have created a work of performance art. And with Andre there to highlight it, it’s fun and meaningful all at once.”
Vogue: In your opinion, is fashion art?
AR: “As [former Costume Institute curator] Harold Koda explains in the movie, Anna figured out that the marriage of celebrity and haute couture is greater than the sum of the parts. As he says, when you see Rihanna in a couture gown on the red carpet, it’s transcendent.” The First Monday in May is in cinemas now.