In America: A Lexicon of Fashion
WORDS BY,
DOUGLAS HENRY LEWIS
Consider this a summing-up of the Costume Institute’s upcoming Met Gala that is to be held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art this September.
Although some argue for the unnecessary superficiality of it all, it is more than just an evening of vanity.
10 MINS READ TIME
Last year when the pandemic was fresh, the collective emotion of the globe was that of apocalyptic fear and utter disbelief as a result of mass lay-offs, budget cuts, and event cancellations.
When the MET’s annual Costume Institute Gala was canceled, (as frivolous as it may seem), the seriousness of the pandemic had finally hit home to loyal fans, workers, and onlookers of the apparel industry. That is the power of the MET Gala. It has grown over the years since its basement days in the ’70s to become an event of such social importance that it can now be compared to an Oscars ceremony.
The beauty of the event is that it’s tailored to glorify the field of fashion and namely, the concepts that Andrew Bolton, Head Curator of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute decides to recognize within the museum's vast collection of design artifacts. There may be A-list celebrities in attendance, but their importance is shared with the designers who dress them and the curatorial masters who organize the exhibitions each year.
The theme of each exhibition and its execution throughout the dress code of the attendees is so poignant that it can temporarily permeate the social codes of dressing, influencing mass interest in the subject and setting off trends that trickle down into the ready-to-wear collections and further into the looks we see on the streets. For example, the 2019 exhibition entitled CAMP: Notes on Fashion (based on Susan Sontag’s 1963 essay) ushered in a gleaming spirit of queer liberation, taking a concept and exaggerating it to the very FIFTH degree, having the most fun possible with our clothes, and an outburst of creative expressionism. As a result, if you were watching the collections then, one could easily see that there was an unleashing of these same themes within the clothes being presented down those non-socially distanced runways. The seemingly good days when all the fashion press would be packed like sardines inside chic venues among the four fashion capitals during the bi-annual fashion months. This trickle-down trendsetting from the MET Gala can easily be seen in the Spring/Summer 2020 collections of Palomo Spain and Private Policy, two brands that consistently break the rules of ready-to-wear with a sense of ease and healthy experimental madness. It’s the innovative ways in which ostrich feathers have been reinvented to give glamour to its wearer, much like that of the 18th-century royal court.
Now that things are slowly and surely getting back to a glimpse of normalcy, the time has finally come for the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art to unveil another sublime subject for its annual exhibition and coherent gala.
This year, you can watch the MET Gala red carpet online. Vogue will be hosting the official livestream.
The theme for this year’s exhibition and gala is entitled “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion”. This is not the first time that the glory of the American aesthetic has been celebrated by the MET. In 2010, “American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity” made its debut. However, there is an ironic and timely symmetry that feels necessary and correct after all the debauchery we’ve endured for the past five years. The combination of a deadly mishandling of our pandemic, rocky relations with our allies, and the broadcasting of many black Americans being slaughtered by a corrupt justice system have forced many U.S. citizens to hold our heads down in shame. Many Americans were already starting to feel a renewed sense of ease regarding the pandemic with the release of the vaccines and new leadership. Now, with the release of this brand-new exhibition, members of the fashion community can join in on the sense of hope.
After digesting the details of this year’s event, it has been announced that there will be not one but multiple parties. Tom Ford, the newly appointed chairman of the Council of Fashion Designers of America stated in his official announcement, “New York Fashion Week is always a celebration of American fashion, but this will take on a whole new meaning in September. After two challenging seasons with no in-person gatherings, we anticipate a significant return to live shows.” He continues, “This season’s shows are an opportunity to reaffirm the resilience and independence of American fashion and New York City as a global fashion force. ‘In America: A Lexicon of Fashion’ will close New York Fashion Week, further cementing this moment for our industry, and I am excited to be an Honorary Chair of the Benefit.”
The decision to place the event right at the end of New York Fashion Week is momentous and electrifying. It is to be assumed that the streets of Manhattan will truly be a sight to see.
We must also take into consideration the fact that all of the creatives from the eager, entry-level, onlooker to the most established creative directors have been in quarantine during all of this time. They've been researching, recharging their batteries, lining up with the essence of their creative roots, and finding new ways to unleash their juices. From the pinning of a never-before-seen brooch on a fashion blogger to the steaming of a garment just before it hits the catwalk, to the placement of an earring on a mannequin at the MET, the various ways in which creatives across all mediums will be preparing for and executing their vision will be something to discuss. The events that will take place will be a key flame that sparks the resurgence of the roaring twenties of the twenty-first century.
As for the exhibition itself, there are many details that VOGUE and the MET will be combing through. To compensate for the cancellation of last year’s ‘About Time’ unveiling, Anna Wintour will oversee two MET Galas, which generously provides the Costume Institute’s annual funding for each year. According to Max Hollein, the Marina Kellen French Director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Wintour is also serving as an honorary chair with Adam Mosseri and Tom Ford. The co-chairs will be Timothée Chalamet, Billie Eilish, Amanda Gorman, and Naomi Osaka.
Part 1 – In America: A Lexicon of Fashion is set to open on September 18th in the Anna Wintour Costume Center along with part 2 – In America: An Anthology of Fashion opening next May 2022 in the American period rooms.
Although some argue for the unnecessary superficiality of it all, it is more than just an evening of vanity. The museum’s collection houses over thirty-three thousand pieces of apparel and accessories that date back over seven centuries. There are a million tiny pieces that go into the upkeep of it all: office spaces and salaries for the museum staff, storage space for the pieces, books, logistical fees for transporting garments from abroad, research trips, advertising, and so much more. A few of the designers who create pieces specifically for the evening have been known to auction off their gowns and donate the proceeds to charities or the museum. Due to the extraordinary leadership efforts of Anna Wintour year after year, the MET Gala has consistently provided over six to seven figures worth of fundraising dollars that go directly to the maintenance, and overall operating budget for the costume institute, hence the appropriate re-naming to the ‘Anna Wintour Costume Center.’
Andrew Bolton describes the key themes of the exhibition being “the emergence of an identifiable American style and the rise of the named designer with an individual aesthetic vision.”
Quite simply, it is all about the idea of homegrown fashion, which makes perfect sense given the personal trajectories of the designers that are set to be featured. Stand-out pieces from the collection are Prabal Gurung’s spring 2020 ready-to-wear dress in white with floral motifs that features a sash with the saying “Who Gets To Be American?” A smash-hit gown from Christopher John Rogers’ stellar Fall/Winter 2020 runway is being featured. Rogers, 26, epitomizes the idea of the American dream with his career trajectory: from studying fashion at the Savannah College of Design to winning the 2019 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund to dressing our first female Vice President Kamala Harris earlier this year. The work of many other successful black designers with similar paths are to be featured as well: the likes of LaQuan Smith, Kerby Jean-Raymond, Andre Walker, Virgil Abloh, and the original mover and shaker -- 1973 Battle of Versailles legend Stephen Burrows.
Pay close attention to the deeply moving ‘VEIL FLAG’ artwork by S.R. STUDIO which features a seemingly nude black man carrying a makeshift denim American flag in the black and blue acid wash on his bag. This deeply moving work has been chosen as the poster image for this year’s MET exhibition, and along with the representation of these black designers in the exhibition.
Other designers whose portfolios embody the notorious themes of practicality and utility are Ralph Lauren, Claire McCardell, Halston, Bonnie Cashin, and much more.
For years, there has always been a debate on whose clothes (European or American) are more ravishing with Paris, London, and Milan almost always winning. With the new two-part extravaganza that will celebrate American sartorial identity on the heels of a successful New York Fashion Week, it can be presumed that the underlying ideals that define America, its remarkable style, and those who perpetrate it will finally be given the long-overdue applause.
A QUOTE FROM ANDREW BOLTON
“When the Costume Institute was founded in 1946, one of its ambitions was to support the creative efforts of American designers, and for our 75th anniversary, we wanted to revisit this ambition – especially after the past year, which has been especially challenging for the fashion community. For several years now, American designers have been at the forefront of discussions about conscious creativity, especially in regard to sustainability and transparency. They’ve also been at the vanguard of discussions around diversity and inclusion. The social justice movements of last summer reinforced their commitments to these issues and consolidated their leadership in advancing the conversations. For me, this past year confirmed what I’d been thinking already – that American fashion is undergoing another renaissance. The fashion industry – globally – is undergoing a process of reinvention and self-reflection, and American designers are embracing fully this moment of endless possibilities. So, we wanted to take the opportunity of our anniversary to celebrate this exciting new phase in American fashion and examine some of the innovations taking place in the industry.”