the Catholic aesthetic
May 7, 2018 9:39 AM Subscribe
"From 14th-century reliquary crosses to 19th-century papal miters, from a 2013 to 2014 Dolce & Gabbana gown inspired by Byzantine mosaics to a 2001 to 2002 Galliano gown modeled on papal dress, the exhibit will trace the development of a distinctly Catholic aesthetic from the sacred world to the secular. But what exactly is the Catholic aesthetic? And what is it about Catholic theology that has created it? To an extent, the Catholic aesthetic is like pornography: You know it when you see it." The Met Gala’s theme is “Fashion and the Catholic Imagination. What exactly does that mean?
I'M DYING TO SEE WHAT EVERYONE WILL WEAR!!!
I've been stoked since hearing about this year's theme!! <3
posted by Dressed to Kill at 10:36 AM on May 7, 2018 [7 favorites]
I've been stoked since hearing about this year's theme!! <3
posted by Dressed to Kill at 10:36 AM on May 7, 2018 [7 favorites]
I've been stoked since hearing about this year's theme!! <3
YES SAME. I'm so glad Rihanna's a co-chair, too. She has as solid history of interpreting the exhibit theme in on-theme, creative, and respectful ways.
posted by everybody had matching towels at 10:41 AM on May 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
YES SAME. I'm so glad Rihanna's a co-chair, too. She has as solid history of interpreting the exhibit theme in on-theme, creative, and respectful ways.
posted by everybody had matching towels at 10:41 AM on May 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
But what exactly is the Catholic aesthetic?
Indulgent.
posted by Sys Rq at 10:46 AM on May 7, 2018 [24 favorites]
Indulgent.
posted by Sys Rq at 10:46 AM on May 7, 2018 [24 favorites]
Okay, I can give them Zeffirelli and Scorcese, but - the cone bra and Riverdale?
Yeah, I didn't get this either. Later the article says this:
While Madonna’s famous cone bra and “Like a Prayer” Catholic-meets-erotic look were, in fact, subversive, they also exist as part of a long line of quintessentially Catholic works that explore the overlap of eroticism and faith.
Is it just because it was in Like A Prayer? Because she has a cross necklace on with it?
The Viktor & Rolf cape was very cool.
posted by Emmy Rae at 11:06 AM on May 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
Yeah, I didn't get this either. Later the article says this:
While Madonna’s famous cone bra and “Like a Prayer” Catholic-meets-erotic look were, in fact, subversive, they also exist as part of a long line of quintessentially Catholic works that explore the overlap of eroticism and faith.
Is it just because it was in Like A Prayer? Because she has a cross necklace on with it?
The Viktor & Rolf cape was very cool.
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posted by Emmy Rae at 11:06 AM on May 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
Madonna (who, down to her stage name, is another example of the trope)
Stage name? Isn't that her actual given name? Is this author familiar with Madonna at all?
posted by Mallenroh at 11:09 AM on May 7, 2018 [13 favorites]
Stage name? Isn't that her actual given name? Is this author familiar with Madonna at all?
posted by Mallenroh at 11:09 AM on May 7, 2018 [13 favorites]
I'm excited about Amal Clooney -- I was very into her gown* from the China: Through the Looking Glass theme year. The armored look of the bodice always reminds me of the Terracotta Army (though others have just dismissed its theme simply as "red," so what do I know).
*also wow I did not realize the designer was John Galliano until I had to find a link for it, no one ever dies in fashion huh
posted by grandiloquiet at 11:14 AM on May 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
*also wow I did not realize the designer was John Galliano until I had to find a link for it, no one ever dies in fashion huh
posted by grandiloquiet at 11:14 AM on May 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
Stage name? Isn't that her actual given name?
Yep. Her actual name, and her mother’s actual name.
That said, the Madonna is maybe the most Catholic of things, so I’ll let the author have that one.
posted by Sys Rq at 11:15 AM on May 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
Yep. Her actual name, and her mother’s actual name.
That said, the Madonna is maybe the most Catholic of things, so I’ll let the author have that one.
posted by Sys Rq at 11:15 AM on May 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
Eh, the fact that she promotes herself entirely based on her first name to the extent that nobody even really knows her full name (probably even fewer people than know who "Norma Jeane" refers to) qualifies it as both a real first name and a stage name, I think.
posted by tobascodagama at 11:36 AM on May 7, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by tobascodagama at 11:36 AM on May 7, 2018 [2 favorites]
Is it just because it was in Like A Prayer? Because she has a cross necklace on with it?
I think the cone bra was in "Express Yourself", actually. And a cursory Google search shows that she debuted the look during a live gig in Japan, so it wasn't a "Like A Prayer" thing exclusively.
I remember the furor over "Like a Prayer" being more about the video having scenes of her canoodling with church-statuary-come-to-life, scenes of her getting stigmata and scenes of a burning cross.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:45 AM on May 7, 2018
I think the cone bra was in "Express Yourself", actually. And a cursory Google search shows that she debuted the look during a live gig in Japan, so it wasn't a "Like A Prayer" thing exclusively.
I remember the furor over "Like a Prayer" being more about the video having scenes of her canoodling with church-statuary-come-to-life, scenes of her getting stigmata and scenes of a burning cross.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:45 AM on May 7, 2018
It includes the world of Catholic artists and writers whose faith was central to the themes of their work — writers like Graham Greene, Evelyn Waugh, and Flannery O’Connor. . .
These pieces of art, different as they are in media and perspective, have a few things in common. They’re all highly stylized and elaborate, characterized by grandeur, pomp, and pageantry. They’re often deeply sensual, even erotic. And they’re often extreme or paradoxical, focusing on collapsing binaries of sacred and profane, good and evil
That does not seem to me like a very good description of Graham Greene at all. If you gave those characteristics to 1,000 people familiar with his work and asked them who you think they described, I'd be surprised if a single one of them said, "Oh Graham Greene, certainly."
And I think the error here is supposing that artists who make Catholicism a central theme of their must necessarily share an aesthetic. More fundamentally, just because a show gathers items that exhibit a Catholic aesthetic, it does not follow that there is a single aesthetic that unites all works that include a close relationship to Catholic experience.
posted by layceepee at 11:52 AM on May 7, 2018 [4 favorites]
These pieces of art, different as they are in media and perspective, have a few things in common. They’re all highly stylized and elaborate, characterized by grandeur, pomp, and pageantry. They’re often deeply sensual, even erotic. And they’re often extreme or paradoxical, focusing on collapsing binaries of sacred and profane, good and evil
That does not seem to me like a very good description of Graham Greene at all. If you gave those characteristics to 1,000 people familiar with his work and asked them who you think they described, I'd be surprised if a single one of them said, "Oh Graham Greene, certainly."
And I think the error here is supposing that artists who make Catholicism a central theme of their must necessarily share an aesthetic. More fundamentally, just because a show gathers items that exhibit a Catholic aesthetic, it does not follow that there is a single aesthetic that unites all works that include a close relationship to Catholic experience.
posted by layceepee at 11:52 AM on May 7, 2018 [4 favorites]
oh my god i hope someone shows up in jude law's la perla white cashmere young pope tracksuit
posted by poffin boffin at 12:05 PM on May 7, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by poffin boffin at 12:05 PM on May 7, 2018 [6 favorites]
Okay, I can give them Zeffirelli and Scorcese, but - the cone bra and Riverdale?
To be fair, the link there is to the episode where Veronica gets confirmed, so there was in fact a scene in that episode that contained Catholic imagery and definitely was "highly stylized and elaborate, characterized by grandeur, pomp, and pageantry." It's not really the first thing that would jump to mind generally, but that episode, sure.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 12:09 PM on May 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
To be fair, the link there is to the episode where Veronica gets confirmed, so there was in fact a scene in that episode that contained Catholic imagery and definitely was "highly stylized and elaborate, characterized by grandeur, pomp, and pageantry." It's not really the first thing that would jump to mind generally, but that episode, sure.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 12:09 PM on May 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
The Blood Angels faction in Warhammer 40,000 is basically "Catholic vampires in spaaaaace"
Hits the same aesthetic for sure.
posted by LegallyBread at 12:11 PM on May 7, 2018 [3 favorites]
Hits the same aesthetic for sure.
posted by LegallyBread at 12:11 PM on May 7, 2018 [3 favorites]
Zeffirelli and Scorcese
What, no love for Fellini?
posted by GenjiandProust at 12:13 PM on May 7, 2018 [2 favorites]
What, no love for Fellini?
posted by GenjiandProust at 12:13 PM on May 7, 2018 [2 favorites]
jude law's la perla white cashmere young pope tracksuit
You might enjoy Tara Isabella Burton's other article about Catholic clothing for Vox, it's about the controversy around flashy pope dress!
posted by everybody had matching towels at 12:18 PM on May 7, 2018
You might enjoy Tara Isabella Burton's other article about Catholic clothing for Vox, it's about the controversy around flashy pope dress!
posted by everybody had matching towels at 12:18 PM on May 7, 2018
To an extent, the Catholic aesthetic is like pornography
Is this what you were thinking of?
or was it more like this?
posted by adamvasco at 12:27 PM on May 7, 2018
Is this what you were thinking of?
or was it more like this?
posted by adamvasco at 12:27 PM on May 7, 2018
Hmm. Sets of vestments, hats and socks. And more. Very aesthetic, not many bras. I'm not really feeling the catholicism of conical bras. I mean, in the 60's, could you get a bra that wasn't conical?
posted by glasseyes at 12:29 PM on May 7, 2018
posted by glasseyes at 12:29 PM on May 7, 2018
They’re all highly stylized and elaborate, characterized by grandeur, pomp, and pageantry. They’re often deeply sensual, even erotic. And they’re often extreme or paradoxical, focusing on collapsing binaries of sacred and profane, good and evil.
Yep. Melodrama, aestheticized masochism, opulence side-by-side with gothic grostesquerie, all with deep roots of pagan imagery. Anne Rice is the perfect exemplar, though you see hints of it in Tolkien. Dan Brown is to the Catholic Aesthetic as Thomas Kinkade is to Vermeer.
posted by Kitty Stardust at 12:37 PM on May 7, 2018 [11 favorites]
Yep. Melodrama, aestheticized masochism, opulence side-by-side with gothic grostesquerie, all with deep roots of pagan imagery. Anne Rice is the perfect exemplar, though you see hints of it in Tolkien. Dan Brown is to the Catholic Aesthetic as Thomas Kinkade is to Vermeer.
posted by Kitty Stardust at 12:37 PM on May 7, 2018 [11 favorites]
My favorite exhibit of a Catholic aesthetic was at Boston College a year or two ago: Making it Irish.
(Madge's foundation garments were nowhere in evidence.)
posted by wenestvedt at 1:29 PM on May 7, 2018 [3 favorites]
(Madge's foundation garments were nowhere in evidence.)
posted by wenestvedt at 1:29 PM on May 7, 2018 [3 favorites]
nobody even really knows her full name (probably even fewer people than know who "Norma Jeane" refers to) qualifies it as both a real first name and a stage name, I think.
sometimes I don't get this website's jokes at all, but everybody on earth* can rattle off madonna veronica louise ciccone, which is forgiven for being not exactly right because it sounds just a bit better than the completely correct version. next someone will say nobody knows cherilyn sarkisian's full name and that won't be serious either
*except for Youths, I suppose
posted by queenofbithynia at 2:16 PM on May 7, 2018 [4 favorites]
sometimes I don't get this website's jokes at all, but everybody on earth* can rattle off madonna veronica louise ciccone, which is forgiven for being not exactly right because it sounds just a bit better than the completely correct version. next someone will say nobody knows cherilyn sarkisian's full name and that won't be serious either
*except for Youths, I suppose
posted by queenofbithynia at 2:16 PM on May 7, 2018 [4 favorites]
I think the Catholic aesthetic also involves having some line that you're willing to go riiiiiight up to but not cross, or breaking rules in every sense but the purely technical. And doing it all with pomp and a sort of gothic sensibility. I can see where Madonna's exaggerated bullet bra fits into that framework.
posted by eviemath at 2:51 PM on May 7, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by eviemath at 2:51 PM on May 7, 2018 [5 favorites]
like a virgin - with special guest appearance by the lion of judah, or maybe of venice, where she is also rolling around in a gondala - god, i hope she didn't roll off, i hear the water's nasty there
certainly a catholic aesthetic
posted by pyramid termite at 3:01 PM on May 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
certainly a catholic aesthetic
posted by pyramid termite at 3:01 PM on May 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
young pope rihanna, i don't care about anything else
posted by poffin boffin at 4:15 PM on May 7, 2018 [8 favorites]
posted by poffin boffin at 4:15 PM on May 7, 2018 [8 favorites]
TBH when I first heard about the "heavenly bodies" theme, I didn't realize it was a Catholic exhibit and I was hoping for someone to pull on the freaky nonhuman angel inspiration (the Katy Perry thing is a little obvious). I think Jennifer Lopez in Balmain is actually my favorite (after Rihanna of course).
This theme is a lot more forgiving than some from the past few years (sumptuous fabrics, colors associated with the Church, and metallics pretty much get you through), but I'm always surprised when people who aren't in the fashion business and don't try to hit the theme attend. It has been suggested that this event...is not super-fun. I mean, I assume the more established people are there to fulfill their brand obligations and get paid. Do the newer ones not realize that a gala organized by Anna Wintour is going to be terrifying?
posted by grandiloquiet at 5:34 PM on May 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
This theme is a lot more forgiving than some from the past few years (sumptuous fabrics, colors associated with the Church, and metallics pretty much get you through), but I'm always surprised when people who aren't in the fashion business and don't try to hit the theme attend. It has been suggested that this event...is not super-fun. I mean, I assume the more established people are there to fulfill their brand obligations and get paid. Do the newer ones not realize that a gala organized by Anna Wintour is going to be terrifying?
posted by grandiloquiet at 5:34 PM on May 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
I love Janelle Monae's outfit so, so much
(i am mildly surprised that no one has shown up in a purple chasuble with the back cut-out. or that there isn't *more* purple present-- advent-purple lasts for three weeks and lent lasts for 40 days in the liturgical calendar)
posted by lineofsight at 5:40 PM on May 7, 2018 [4 favorites]
(i am mildly surprised that no one has shown up in a purple chasuble with the back cut-out. or that there isn't *more* purple present-- advent-purple lasts for three weeks and lent lasts for 40 days in the liturgical calendar)
posted by lineofsight at 5:40 PM on May 7, 2018 [4 favorites]
Also not sure who Zendaya is but this is some Crusader styling.
J-Lo's Crusader look is just alright in comparison.
posted by spamandkimchi at 5:57 PM on May 7, 2018 [2 favorites]
J-Lo's Crusader look is just alright in comparison.
posted by spamandkimchi at 5:57 PM on May 7, 2018 [2 favorites]
Everyone is saying Joan of Arc for Zendaya
(Zendaya was the funny girl in the most recent Spiderman, if that helps)
posted by grandiloquiet at 6:03 PM on May 7, 2018 [2 favorites]
(Zendaya was the funny girl in the most recent Spiderman, if that helps)
posted by grandiloquiet at 6:03 PM on May 7, 2018 [2 favorites]
Reminds me of one of my favorite Natalie Dee comics
posted by Mchelly at 8:26 PM on May 7, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Mchelly at 8:26 PM on May 7, 2018 [2 favorites]
My favourites were Rhianna and Zendaya (and unfortunately Zendaya's Versace creation made Shailene Woodley's outfit look really bad in comparison)
Honourable mentions to J.Lo, Kate Bosworth, Stella Maxwell, Greta Gerwig. Theme on point while staying true to the house aesthetic. (I particularly loved Gerwig's look from The Row, so understated compared to all the gold and embroidery and yet so resonant!).
Kudos to Lena Waithe and her rainbow cape.
You gotta hand it to SJP, she does her homework every year and strives for extra credit marks.
Pretty disappointed with Miley Cyrus, Cindy Crawford, and Amal Clooney. There were other outfits I didn't like, but I was looking forward to seeing what these three would turn out.
On the gossip front, what the heck were Elon Musk and Grimes doing there? I don't have much to say about them dating (would never have paired those two names together, but whatever), but I'm scratching my head as to why either got an invite.
posted by like_neon at 3:29 AM on May 8, 2018 [2 favorites]
Honourable mentions to J.Lo, Kate Bosworth, Stella Maxwell, Greta Gerwig. Theme on point while staying true to the house aesthetic. (I particularly loved Gerwig's look from The Row, so understated compared to all the gold and embroidery and yet so resonant!).
Kudos to Lena Waithe and her rainbow cape.
You gotta hand it to SJP, she does her homework every year and strives for extra credit marks.
Pretty disappointed with Miley Cyrus, Cindy Crawford, and Amal Clooney. There were other outfits I didn't like, but I was looking forward to seeing what these three would turn out.
On the gossip front, what the heck were Elon Musk and Grimes doing there? I don't have much to say about them dating (would never have paired those two names together, but whatever), but I'm scratching my head as to why either got an invite.
posted by like_neon at 3:29 AM on May 8, 2018 [2 favorites]
Patricia Lockwood and her mom have a fashion recap over at the The Cut. It is excellent.
posted by everybody had matching towels at 7:28 AM on May 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by everybody had matching towels at 7:28 AM on May 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
ME: Madonna?
MOM (in a snake voice): Madonna.
posted by everybody had matching towels at 7:33 AM on May 8, 2018 [3 favorites]
MOM (in a snake voice): Madonna.
posted by everybody had matching towels at 7:33 AM on May 8, 2018 [3 favorites]
all of the men save chadwick boseman were, as always, incredibly disappointing. DRESS THE THEME YOU COWARDS
posted by poffin boffin at 7:54 AM on May 8, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by poffin boffin at 7:54 AM on May 8, 2018 [5 favorites]
Also found on The Cut, a nice roundup of Twitter takes.
posted by like_neon at 7:55 AM on May 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by like_neon at 7:55 AM on May 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
@planetx My goal is to wield clothing with as much style and anger as Lena Waithe wearing a Pride flag cape and Lynda Carter wearing a tiara that says "Never forget" in Hebrew to a Catholic-themed event.
posted by everybody had matching towels at 9:24 AM on May 8, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by everybody had matching towels at 9:24 AM on May 8, 2018 [13 favorites]
Pretty disappointed with Miley Cyrus, Cindy Crawford, and Amal Clooney. There were other outfits I didn't like, but I was looking forward to seeing what these three would turn out.
I dunno...it kinda bothers me that though guests are supposedly supposed to dress the theme, only women are actually expected to do it. Why do we feel entitled to put women to all that bother and expense but no one expects George Clooney to dress the theme and no one's disappointed that he didn't?
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 10:39 AM on May 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
I dunno...it kinda bothers me that though guests are supposedly supposed to dress the theme, only women are actually expected to do it. Why do we feel entitled to put women to all that bother and expense but no one expects George Clooney to dress the theme and no one's disappointed that he didn't?
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 10:39 AM on May 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
Lots of people are disappointed that so few men bother to dress the theme. I saw bunches of tweets dragging them for it. A brief sampling:
@danielhowell: men that turn up to the met gala wearing plain suits are really letting all humanity down if i got an invite i’d hit that theme hard and ride in on an armoured unicorn then throw off a gilded cape to reveal surgically attached angel wings and a tux made of bedazzled dove feathersposted by Lexica at 11:00 AM on May 8, 2018 [3 favorites]
@connorfranta: men at the met gala need to 1) step it up or b) not attend!!
@savannahseymour: Why are men afraid to go all out for the Met Gala please just give me something if I see another black tux I'm going to combust
Well I’m only personally speaking but I never have any expectations for Clooney arrive in anything but a boring well fitted tux and he delivered. I focused on the women out of personal interest. However I would argue that the Met Gala is one event where the men actually have more focus (and put in more effort) than usual. It’s not comparable to the women still, but there’s plenty of guys making an effort and getting recognised for it. Here’s a GQ roundup of the men. Jared Leto, Jayden Smith and Migos delivered as expected but I must say I am really digging Trevor Noah’s Balmain outfit. Sharp!
posted by like_neon at 11:03 AM on May 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by like_neon at 11:03 AM on May 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
Ok, my bad. If we have similar expectations for men and are criticizing them equally then I'm fine with it.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 11:15 AM on May 8, 2018
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 11:15 AM on May 8, 2018
Among the guys who did it right, Jeremy Scott looked marvelous as he accompanied Cardi B.
posted by Lexica at 1:15 PM on May 8, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Lexica at 1:15 PM on May 8, 2018 [2 favorites]
I loved this theme and so many of its interpretations but anyone wearing a cross or a saint on their dress is just plain lazy. I mean come on.
posted by HotToddy at 4:36 PM on May 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by HotToddy at 4:36 PM on May 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
I quite like this review in the Jesuit journal America. A different take than you might expect given the source.
posted by TheShadowKnows at 4:44 PM on May 8, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by TheShadowKnows at 4:44 PM on May 8, 2018 [3 favorites]
I've always thought of Madonna's aesthetic as totally Catholic and it seems like she talked about being Catholic almost as much as sex (and I'm Catholic). Her earliest style was a mashup of NY Italian and Puerto Rican East Village styles (and I was living in the East Village at the time).
posted by maggiemaggie at 7:41 PM on May 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by maggiemaggie at 7:41 PM on May 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
There's a shot of Leto with his companions (Lana Del Rey and some guy I don't know) that totally makes me see his outfit in a different light.
OK, he's Gucci Creative Director Alessandro Michele, says this.
posted by mllm at 10:13 PM on May 8, 2018 [2 favorites]
OK, he's Gucci Creative Director Alessandro Michele, says this.
posted by mllm at 10:13 PM on May 8, 2018 [2 favorites]
I loved this theme and so many of its interpretations but anyone wearing a cross or a saint on their dress is just plain lazy. I mean come on.
Ooh I disagree. I think this was one of the most interesting themes from the Met Gala because it was an opportunity to re-evaluate these symbolically important motifs of Catholicism in an artistic, creative, and fashion space. Take Stella Maxwell's Moschino dress for example. (Note that Jeremy Scott is the designer for Moschino, who accompanies Cardi B in a link above)
I don't know what the original forms would have been, possibly anything from oils to al frescos, but to adapt them to fabric, crystals and beads is jawdropping. I think they are all women saints, or actually maybe they are all the of the Virgin Mary? There's a few where she's holding a babe in arms, presumably Jesus. But to see all of these versions in one medium, sort of like a collage, is interesting and I'd love to know the team's research into selecting them.
And then on a macro level, to see these traditionally revered motifs on an overtly feminine and sexy form is thought provoking. And if it is all indeed of the Virgin Mary, doubly so.
This is not to say that there were not any lazy, literal takes. I think this was literal in a bad way and the result is that it looks like a costume from an online party store ('Sexy Cardinal!")
posted by like_neon at 2:35 AM on May 9, 2018 [5 favorites]
Ooh I disagree. I think this was one of the most interesting themes from the Met Gala because it was an opportunity to re-evaluate these symbolically important motifs of Catholicism in an artistic, creative, and fashion space. Take Stella Maxwell's Moschino dress for example. (Note that Jeremy Scott is the designer for Moschino, who accompanies Cardi B in a link above)
I don't know what the original forms would have been, possibly anything from oils to al frescos, but to adapt them to fabric, crystals and beads is jawdropping. I think they are all women saints, or actually maybe they are all the of the Virgin Mary? There's a few where she's holding a babe in arms, presumably Jesus. But to see all of these versions in one medium, sort of like a collage, is interesting and I'd love to know the team's research into selecting them.
And then on a macro level, to see these traditionally revered motifs on an overtly feminine and sexy form is thought provoking. And if it is all indeed of the Virgin Mary, doubly so.
This is not to say that there were not any lazy, literal takes. I think this was literal in a bad way and the result is that it looks like a costume from an online party store ('Sexy Cardinal!")
posted by like_neon at 2:35 AM on May 9, 2018 [5 favorites]
Wow and that article in Jesuit Journal America that TheShadowKnows linked above says it much better than I could ever strive for. I noticed that it also links to Stella Maxwell's dress as a "celebration". (Or at least the url code does, the actual URL redirects, boooo Popsugar). I highly recommend it!
posted by like_neon at 2:48 AM on May 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by like_neon at 2:48 AM on May 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
Genevieve Valentine has written an extensive and informative Red Carpet Rundown: The Met Gala 2018.
posted by Lexica at 10:14 AM on May 9, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by Lexica at 10:14 AM on May 9, 2018 [3 favorites]
So does this work exactly? I mean a lot of those dresses are by famous designers, but I'm guessing these weren't part of their spring couture lines, right? So do these celebrities approach designers and say they want a dress with beaded madonnas from rennaissance art? Or do they say they want something catholic and the designer decides? Or something in between? Do couture houses even do this I thought they just had their lines and then they custom-fit and maybe slightly-modified their stuff to the buyer. How much would a custom thing like htis even cost? I have to imagine that beaded madonna dress and the dress the pregnant woman is wearing would be well into 5 digits.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 4:36 PM on May 9, 2018
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 4:36 PM on May 9, 2018
A bunch of the celebs attending are actually the +1s of various designers who dressed them. I assume that was the case with Alessandro de Michele and Lana del Rey, for example. Probably all of the celebs are being dressed, for free, by designers...but some are getting much more attention than others. "Bigger" style celebs probably have more control than ingenues, especially if they're being paid to represent a brand. Frances McDormand was wearing an existing couture creation...and I assume that's why so many models are always dressed in a sexy-bland fashion. They often seem to be wearing direct-from-runway stuff. Remember Anna Wintour controls the guest list, so she probably knows who and what everyone is wearing before they show up.
I do wonder how the expenses are counted at design houses! Advertising? Party slush fund?
some behind the scenes with Rihanna's stylist about the Met ball.
posted by grandiloquiet at 8:24 PM on May 9, 2018
I do wonder how the expenses are counted at design houses! Advertising? Party slush fund?
some behind the scenes with Rihanna's stylist about the Met ball.
posted by grandiloquiet at 8:24 PM on May 9, 2018
I think it varies.
Greta Gerwig in The Row and Solange in Van Herpen are looks that are from their collections. I've seen the Van Herpen(4th look down) in quite a few places, most recently just last night in a pre-movie ad with Paloma Faith for some car commercial I think? This Vogue article specifically goes into Greta Gerwig's look and details the relationship the actress, her stylist, and the two designers have. The look is specifically drawn from their A/W 2018 collection, more specifically look 41.
There was a number of contingents sponsored by H&M. They have specific plans to re-interpret these looks into high street products to flog, so it's most certainly covered by their marketing budget. Top Shop has also been participants in the past, with similar ambitions, but they did not join this year.
The designer as +1 has been covered above and most likely covered by marketing.
Finally, there are those attending individually, which I suspect was the case with Musk/Grimes. Somehow they got invited and they shelled out the $30,000 per seat fee because they thought for whatever reason this was the right place to debut their relationship. There is some talk about Musk actually designing Grimes' look - which I think is a very good explanation why she looks like a goth fairy and she's wearing a Tesla logo inspired choker. Which could be used to justify it being covered by Tesla's marketing budget. Just kidding. Maybe.
The Met Gala. A land of contrasts.
posted by like_neon at 1:58 AM on May 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
Greta Gerwig in The Row and Solange in Van Herpen are looks that are from their collections. I've seen the Van Herpen(4th look down) in quite a few places, most recently just last night in a pre-movie ad with Paloma Faith for some car commercial I think? This Vogue article specifically goes into Greta Gerwig's look and details the relationship the actress, her stylist, and the two designers have. The look is specifically drawn from their A/W 2018 collection, more specifically look 41.
There was a number of contingents sponsored by H&M. They have specific plans to re-interpret these looks into high street products to flog, so it's most certainly covered by their marketing budget. Top Shop has also been participants in the past, with similar ambitions, but they did not join this year.
The designer as +1 has been covered above and most likely covered by marketing.
Finally, there are those attending individually, which I suspect was the case with Musk/Grimes. Somehow they got invited and they shelled out the $30,000 per seat fee because they thought for whatever reason this was the right place to debut their relationship. There is some talk about Musk actually designing Grimes' look - which I think is a very good explanation why she looks like a goth fairy and she's wearing a Tesla logo inspired choker. Which could be used to justify it being covered by Tesla's marketing budget. Just kidding. Maybe.
The Met Gala. A land of contrasts.
posted by like_neon at 1:58 AM on May 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
I was half-joking about the party slush fund, but Slate posted an article about the fundraising side of galas and I was reminded that this is technically a fundraiser for the Met. I wonder if designers can actually write off expenses for this event as a charitable deduction...?
posted by grandiloquiet at 6:48 AM on May 10, 2018
posted by grandiloquiet at 6:48 AM on May 10, 2018
OK last one, because it made me laugh, from Robin Givhan: At the Met Gala red carpet, the point is no longer looking good. The point is to win:
The regular folks who attend the gala — which is to say the mere millionaires and billionaires, corporate titans, political powerhouses, philanthropic leaders and sports stars — cannot compete. So what if they have the money to actually buy these clothes? They do not have the chutzpah to wear them. Witness: the unfortunate sight of Tom Brady wearing a gold-trimmed Versace tuxedo jacket and a chagrined expression that says, “my wife said I had to dress on-theme, or Anna Wintour wouldn’t let me come.”
posted by grandiloquiet at 10:53 AM on May 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
The regular folks who attend the gala — which is to say the mere millionaires and billionaires, corporate titans, political powerhouses, philanthropic leaders and sports stars — cannot compete. So what if they have the money to actually buy these clothes? They do not have the chutzpah to wear them. Witness: the unfortunate sight of Tom Brady wearing a gold-trimmed Versace tuxedo jacket and a chagrined expression that says, “my wife said I had to dress on-theme, or Anna Wintour wouldn’t let me come.”
posted by grandiloquiet at 10:53 AM on May 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
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But it’s also an aesthetic we find in, say, the films of Franco Zeffirelli or Martin Scorsese. And it’s an aesthetic we often find subverted in pop culture, in the bloody, sexual, queer vampire novels of Anne Rice (an on-and-off Catholic convert), or in the highly erotic “cone bra” designed by Jean-Paul Gaultier for pop singer Madonna (who, down to her stage name, is another example of the trope) — hell, even the “Archie goes Grand-Guignol” TV show Riverdale.
Okay, I can give them Zeffirelli and Scorcese, but - the cone bra and Riverdale?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:49 AM on May 7, 2018