Met Gala avoids unholy row by staying strictly Catholic
Curator of New York style exhibition chooses not to mark other faiths in fear it would be seen as ‘token’
INVITING celebrities to follow a dress code of “Catholicism and Fashion” was always going to ruffle feathers.
However, this year’s theme for the annual blockbuster style exhibition at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art – and tonight’s red carpet gala – could have been even more controversial, it has emerged.
Andrew Bolton, the show’s curator, intended to include Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Judaism, as well.
With the exhibition always dictating the dress code for the black tie event nicknamed “fashion’s biggest night out” – 2013’s Punk: Chaos to Couture saw the stars tackle tartan and leathers, and 2008’s Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy meant a parade of caped creations – the opportunities for celebrities to have misappropriated sensitive garments on the red carpet would have been numerous.
As it is, fashion observers are hoping that to mark Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination, Madonna might seize the opportunity to dress up as her namesake, or that Kim Kardashian might reimagine the nun’s habit.
Bolton said he changed his mind when he realised that “80 per cent” of the modern Western fashion artefacts his five years of research on religion and fashion uncovered were inspired by Catholicism and many of France, Italy and Britain’s most prominent design talents were raised as Catholics.
“It was beginning to look imbalanced,” he said. “I was worried that it might be misinterpreted, that the other four religions might seem like tokens.”
The Met Gala, which started life in 1948 as a high society midnight supper to raise funds for the Costume Institute, has now become one of the most high profile charity events in the world, with last year’s event raising £9.7million.
It is organised by Anna Wintour, editor of US Vogue, and will be co-chaired this year by Amal Clooney, Rihanna and Donatella Versace.
Many of tonight’s guests are expected to wear red carpet creations by Versace and Dolce & Gabbana, whose most recent catwalk collection included clerical collar shirts, cherub embroideries and jewelled crucifixes.
The Vatican has been, perhaps surprisingly, on board with the exhibit, lending more than 40 pieces from the Sistine Chapel sacristy, including opulent papal robes, precious rings and tiaras from the 18th to 21st century. The artefacts will be displayed alongside baroque-look dresses by Dolce & Gabbana, crucifix-emblazoned Versace evening gowns, and costumes from Madonna’s music videos, to show the dialogue between the two subject matters and highlight the influence of liturgical vestments on designers.
“Fashion and religion have long been intertwined, mutually inspiring and informing one another,” Bolton explains. “Although this relationship has been complex and sometimes contested, it has produced some of the most inventive and innovative creations in the history of fashion.” British designers with pieces in the exhibit include Christopher Kane, John Galliano, Gareth Pugh and Preen’s Justin Thornton and Thea Bregazzi. “There are obvious labels that lend themselves to the theme – it’s a good one this year,” stylist Elizabeth Stewart, who is dressing actress Amanda Seyfried, says. “You can choose to interpret it literally, or in a much more subtle way, and we’ve gone quite literal this time. “Having a theme is what sets the Met Gala apart from any other red carpet event and, above all, it’s fun.”