As the rainy days of April ease into May with promises of warmer weather, everyday fashions are carried into summer street style fit for the higher temperatures. Still, true fashionistas know that the arrival of May does not just mean shopping for new Memorial Day Weekend outfits but also includes the Super Bowl of fashion: The Met Gala.
The Met Gala arrives the first Monday in May each year, said Vanessa Friedman of The New York Times, and is set with a unique theme to channel today’s culture with yesterday’s history.
Kicking off the museum’s annual fashion exhibit, the event has garnered a prestigious reputation for some of the best (and worst) looks in the fashion game.
This year, models, celebrities and fashion dynamos alike took on the challenge of dressing to the theme “Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology.” A medley of metals walked the carpet in accordance with the tech-based theme. However, a few individuals managed to stand out.
Claire Danes’s stunning baby blue dress embodied a Cinderella-esque look, with one simple, yet monumental twist: it glowed. The Zac Posen gown lit up using a host of fiber optics technology, Paul Chi of Vanity Fair said. Posen’s incorporation of literal technology into an article of clothing put Danes on the top, as far as Met Gala Fashion is concerned, with a look both high-tech and high-fashion.
Emma Watson arrived on the carpet wearing a classic black and white wide-leg pantsuit complete with a train. At first glance, the Calvin Klein ensemble looks chic and expensive. But Rose Walano of US Magazine said the outfit was crafted entirely out of recycled plastic bottles. Watson promoted a look that is as gorgeous as it is ecologically mindful, showcasing a philanthropic use of today’s technology.
Yet even celebrities and the fashion elite can succumb to the pressure of the Met Gala, producing looks that are less than stellar. Sarah Jessica Parker managed to turn a futuristic theme into anything but, donning white Monse capris and a cameo necklace. Parker looked gorgeous, but her ensemble did not mesh with the theme.
The star-studded Met Gala reigns supreme as fashion’s most anticipated event and boasted price tags of up to $30,000 per ticket, Friedman said. Still, hits and misses are inevitable, and one can only hope to get in on the action in the future.