Punk-Chaos to Couture

Comme des Garçons (Japanese, founded 1969), spring/summer 2006 Photograph by Catwalking from the Met's website

Comme des Garçons (Japanese, founded 1969), spring/summer 2006
Photograph by Catwalking from the Met’s website

If you’re at all into fashion (or you looked at this blog yesterday) you’ve already seen a lot of coverage of the Met Gala.  And, although I would never complain about a good red carpet, I thought it was important to recognize the exhibit that the gala was celebrating.

According to the Met’s website - ”The Met’s spring 2013 Costume Institute exhibition, PUNK: Chaos to Couture, will examine punk’s impact on high fashion from the movement’s birth in the early 1970s through its continuing influence today. Featuring approximately one hundred designs for men and women, the exhibition will include original punk garments and recent, directional fashion to illustrate how haute couture and ready-to-wear borrow punk’s visual symbols.

Focusing on the relationship between the punk concept of “do-it-yourself” and the couture concept of “made-to-measure,” the seven galleries will be organized around the materials, techniques, and embellishments associated with the anti-establishment style. Themes will include New York and London, which will tell punk’s origin story as a tale of two cities, followed by Clothes for Heroes and four manifestations of the D.I.Y. aesthetic—HardwareBricolageGraffiti and Agitprop, and Destroy.

Presented as an immersive multimedia, multisensory experience, the clothes will be animated with period music videos and soundscaping audio techniques.”

Rodarte (American, founded 2005) Vogue, July 2008 Photograph by David Sims from the Met website

Rodarte (American, founded 2005)
Vogue, July 2008
Photograph by David Sims from the Met website

Sounds pretty cool!  Now how do we get this exhibit to come to Chicago?

~Maggie


Met Ball 2013

Today’s the day-it’s time for the Met Ball!

So what exactly is the Met Ball?  Well, in addition to Fashion Week the Met Ball is one of fashion’s high holy days.  Technically, the Met Ball is The Costume Institute Gala and it celebrates the opening of the Met’s fashion exhibit at the Costume Institute and it’s organized by Vogue.

Every year has a theme (This year’s is Punk) and guests dress accordingly.  Attendees tend to push the fashion envelope much more than on other red carpets throughout the year since the event is fashion oriented unlike, say the Oscars where it’s more about who’s wearing the clothes than the clothes themselves.  This risk taking obviously leads to some fashion fails but all and all it’s the most interesting red carpet of the year in my opinion.

Several groups will be live streaming the red carpet tonight but I’ll probably stick with Vogue’s coverage and perhaps see what Moda Operandi has to say about the event.  Will you be watching?

~Maggie

PS-Look for my recap-with pictures!-tomorrow