As some of you may be aware the Met Gala was last week. Those of you who are not: the Met Gala happened last week. And if your in a third group of people who are completely confused by what I’m talking about and need the perfectly reasonable follow up question of : But what is the Met Gala though?
Allow me to explain.
The Met Gala is a pretty cool party that happens around this time every year. It's basically a huge fundraiser for the museum. But to nail it down precisely, it is a party that is thrown by Metropolitan Museum of Fine Art's Costume Institute. And to answer the next logical question in that chain: What is the costume institute? The Costume institute is the department of the museum that’s dedicated to historical frocks from all places and spaces. It is also named after Anna Wintour. And all you need to know about Anna Wintour is:
Wintourbasically rules over fashion, sits on the board of directors for the Costume Institute, and, American Vogue. Wintour is like all the Avengers in one person. That’s basically it.
Now let’s complicate things a little bit now that we're is caught up. Every year the Met Gala has a theme inspired by the institute’s exhibit of that year.This means people who are fortunate enough to cop an invite get to coordinate there duds to fit in with the year’s theme. So just to give you a quick example some past themes have been punk, superheroes, and Cubism. This year theme is China because the exhibit is called China Through the Looking Glass .
Needless to say, I have a raging brainer and a facial expression that can only be described as pure glee.
Well truthfully, half of me is totally like that. There’s the happy-go-lucky nerd that is totally happy that Chinese fashion is getting museum exposure. Cause if I call up the quick wit part of my brain, and this is just my opinion, there have been plenty of things,like Japanese fashion, that have had a serious amount of museum coverage. For Example: The V&A’s exhibits about Yohji YamamotoandJapanese Street Style and the Seattle Art Museum’s travelling exhibit called Future Beauty . So my inner voice is going: This is ground-breaking! This is diversity! This is cool!
Then there is that that other half. The serious nerd that refuses and forgive me I’m going at this blind-
Okay fine…. But if you’ll let me build up an extravagant metaphor here: I’m going at this blind because it’s not an exhibit I’ve seen in person yet. But kind of like Mr. Murdock I have super hearing in the way of a smattering of knowledge in my academic disciplines that can give me some decent echoes to see where the obstacles are.
Phew! That was a bit of a long walk around. And I’m sorry Daredevil franchise.
Now with a bit of tactical website image re-con reveal these bad femmes:
From the outside this squad looks on point. They pretty skilful showcase for more than a few Chinese historical things like ceramics, traditional patterns and symbols, and, embroidery, which is always cool. But then it there it is. Look at where these dresses from: All these frocks are from Western fashion houses. We’ve already seen this before. It's Chinoiserie. While this time around it may not be as bad as it’s earlier phases- you know with a bunch of people who’ve never even been to China trying to China, it is not exactly a thoughtful use of Chinese culture.
If you follow the internal logical of the exhibit, in their own way, the answer to that complaint is the exhibit's incorporation of Chinese film. For example, they’re using one of my favourite films, Wong Kar Wai’s In the Mood For Love. It’s definitely not a missed opportunity.In the Mood for Love has amazing fashion moments in it much like your Breakfast at Tiffany’s. This is done through the main female character film wearing a bunch of awesome 1950’s qipao’s. That's what Maggie Cheung is wearing in the photo in case you’re unfamiliar. A bit more to know about this, is those dresses were meticulously researched by Wong’s art director William Chang. Chang designed those dresses using old films stills from the 30’s and 40’s and skilled old-school tailors to fashion 50 or so dresses for the film. And they are impeccable and amazing. But let’s be clear they are not what’s happening now. What your seeing is lovingly, painfully reconstructed historical fashion but that’s not the same as designing fashion. If that doesn’t seem very clear think about it this way: those dresses are what’s already been designed and not what is being designed right now.
Now I get how this looks. It must look like this:
And I don’t want you to think I’m on a high horse cherry picking easy arguments to tear down. Like I said I haven’t seen the exhibit yet. This is just my first impression. I’m all about finding positive solutions.So how would I improve it if my first impression is right? Well I definately think the missing thread in this exhibit is Chinese designers. There are established designers such as Vivienne Tam or Jimmy Choo whose current work could be featured. Just check out what Vivienne Tam designed for Spring 2015 which could fit seamlessly into the exhibit:
What to think about this exhibit? Go see it for sure. The only way even better Chinese fashion exhibits in museums get made is if you go and support them. But definitely keep these things mind.
Now let’s get to the who, what, wear of the Met Gala. Like I mentioned before people are supposed to coordinate with the theme and I waited super anxiously to see who didn't get it and more interestingly who did! So this is kind of going to be like the Fashion Police if that show wasn’t pointlessly cruel and guided by an East Asian art nerd world-view. Also please know that this is not about judging the person through their fashion choices. There is far too much of that. I’m not this. I’m not doing this. I got all these images from the New York Time’s page on the Met Gala. You should totally check it out for a total run down.
UNBELIEVABLE:
Karolina Kurkova in Tommy Hilfiger. This looks like a Halloween costume you never ever ever wear. Please refer to this handy list from Gawker if you’re ever confused as to why not.
Chloe Sevigny in JW Anderson. This dress is no good for ore or less the same reason: It’s a costume-y pastiche. I see the idea she was going for because Chinese embroidery is a traditional art form.
But then it turns into a Shroedinger’s cat of a dress: It’s simultaneously dead and alive at the same time. No seriously. White is the colour of death and green is the colour of health in Chinese culture. Literally, the dress reads dead and alive. Now if you want to get more metaphorical with it: The dress is alive and a great idea because it showcases Chinese embroidery traditions. It’s also dead because it’s clearly two different dresses that the designer decided to cram together because: Hey Chinese embroidery! Just look: The top half has these bold floral emblems and the bottom half has a cool landscape scene. Both things are things that you could find outside but still. Two different dresses do not make one good one. A good idea poor execution. I like her shoes though.
FAIL:
These two unclear in their reference: Lady Gaga in Balenciaga and Bee Schaffer in Alexander McQueen. Both managed to evoke Japan with their choices and it's insensitive just to turn up with that because it happens to come from the general geographic region. So let’s just say they didn’t understand the assignment. Lady Gaga has that distinct kimono vibe (and my impression is it kind of Spanish too?). Bee is also giving off a kind of a Kimono vibe but leans into the wrong turn even further by also wearing a Japanese inspired pattern of cherry blossoms and cranes. Cherry Blossoms and cranes symbolise the fleeting nature of life so with out question kind of a bummer at a party.
PASS WITH COLOURS:
All right so this is a bunch of stuff from left to right:
Katie Holmes in Zac Posen. The dress has a really cool cloud design and it’s glittery so it’s a night sky dress.
Helen Mirren in Dolce Gabbana. Mirren’s choice it a totally tasteful tribute. This references Chinese culture in terms of colour choice rather than the dress itself. Red is of course being the colour of happiness, fortune and joy.
Gong Li in Roberto Cavalli. It’s also a pretty safe and tame choice. There were a lot of dresses at the gala that would been at home on the set of In the Mood for Love. Gong Li’s is one of them but with a little bit of extra drama by adding a long train.
Dao Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne. I’ll admit I had no clue who these two are but Bless Google! I do now. From what I managed to see of the Met Gala, they were the only two male examples of Chinese fashion! Awesome right? They’re wearing hanfu.
WINNING:
Kim Kardashian
Kim Kardashian in Roberto Cavalli. As a quasi-ceramics nerd: Bless. This. Dress. Even though Kim’s own choice of theme was to emulate a thing Cher wore to the Met Gala in the 1970’s
Mission accomplished there. I’d say its practically a ringer. Kim’s own agenda aside and back to why I love this dress: Look at those details on the bodice. First of all we see that awesome Greek key detail and what look to be some cloud like flourishes at the top so kinda like this :
Some of the other more obvious details are those circular emblems you see at that empire waistline bit. Those are a really cool design element that happen to mean wealth (禄). Perfect for Kim. Now this dress does get points off for being white because, as I mentioned, it is the colour of mourning. But let’s get back to where this dress excels and discuss how it’s totally a tribute to Ding ware ceramics.
ing Ware is kind of a big deal. Ding ware is one of those great wares that everybody talked about and Emperor’s dined on. It also considered one of the first porcelains China ever made. That means it was made by mixing Kaolin clay and another kind of stone, called petuntse, used to make all this stuff so white. In fact, Ding ware is like the whitest thing ever. It’s always white. I’m not saying it’s the only white ware in Chinese ceramics but if you see a bowl or a plate 9 times out 10 it’s probably Ding ware. If you want to make the odds ever more in your favour: look for either flowers or fish and sometimes babies.
So if you notice both these dishes kind of have different looks. And good for you if you did! The top one is older than the one just above here. The top one used an incised method to draw on the designs. This would have meant some one would have sat there with a stylus ( a fancy word for a sharp pointy stick) and free handed it. This one here was done with pushing a mould with the design on it to the raw clay. But I’m going to stop myself there before it turns into a ceramics gush fest. But this is why Kim’s dress rocked. You can see that most of the dress has these really cool floral flourishes all done in white, much like the Ding ware I’m showing you here. Thus: On theme and quite clever. Now it is fair to point out that it does fall under the general heading of Chinoiserie, but, in my nerdy opinion it was the best of this type of dress and hey awesome accidental ceramics reference!
Rhianna:
This dress is just inspiring. Though unfortunately it did inspire the internet to come up with some pretty-let’s say opinionated-memes:
Which had me like:
Then it occurred to me that it was no one’s fault really. There’s no reference here for it after all. Let me fill it in for you if you happen to think: But it looks like scrambled eggs though.
First thing you need to know about this flight of fantastic is it one of the few things worn by A list celebrity at the Met Gala that was actually designed by a Chinese designer, Ms. Guo Pei, to be exact.
That’s her on the end in green. And how did Rhianna end up finding out about her in the first place? She simply internetted hard and came across Pei’s designs. And in an interesting quirk, Pei actually didn’t know much about who Rhianna was either, and did a few internet searches herself and figured it out.
Though this does leaves me wondering why didn’t other glam squads have the same internet adventure? Those results would be very worthwhile to see on the red carpet and we could have seen more Chinese designers. However, I think with Pei’s breakthrough performance here it won’t be long.
The itself dress took around 2 years to construct. It weighs around 55 pounds and is made of yellow silk, gold thread, and, fox fur. The original outfit actually included a corset and some shoes but Rhianna chose just to wear the cape as a stand alone statement piece. It is also interesting to know that no one had worn the dress since it’s runway début in 2010. So basically, besides the model, Rhianna is the second person ever to wear the dress! Though what I like most about all of this is Pei is on the record as saying no one but someone with the confidence of a queen could wear that dress.
HECK YES! I could not have said it better myself.
This is why this dress rocks. The dress is literally fit for a queen because it is yellow, a colour that is associated with the Emperor. So in case I lost you there: Yellow in Chinese culture is exactly like Purple is in the West: It’s Regal. That’s why all the snide asides about looking like eggs just don’t fit guys. It would be like saying Kate Middleton looked like a smear of cream cheese in her wedding gown. Nope.
Meet the Dragon Robe or Jifu: … Or to be more precise: The Back view of a Dragon Robe:
These robes are kind of complicated thing to understand with out a back story. But rest assured the back-story has dragons! Dragons are an important part of what makes the Emperor a dapper dude. Long Story short: Since the emperor is supposed to have descended from heaven and needs something from called the mandate of heaven to rule, the dragon, and specifically the five clawed dragon is like a visual representation of the Emperor’s royal assent or right to rule. And only the emperor got to rock the 5 clawed dragon. So it was pretty exclusive. If you were just an important government guy you’d only ever be allowed to rock 3 claws. Another thing that was reserved for the Emperor club was the colour Yellow. It’s considered to be colour of the earth and the colour representing the centre of the universe. It’s treated in Chinese mythology the same way the colour white actually works: It reflects all other colours and because of that it’s kind of considered above all other colours. All you need to remember though, is that these things are important visual clues that would have added to the court vibe to show who is more important than who and who.
Now it’ll be super-easy for everyone to understand these fresh threads as a whole thing. If you’ve been super-paying attention you’ll probably notice the same - ish kind of cloud pattern that was at the bottom of Katie Holmes’s dress. Add that the yellow earth background with the whole 5 clawed dragons: You’re getting an aerial view of the boss 5 clawed dragons are literally frolicking in the clouds. Pretty neat huh? Now if we check out that hem line: You’ll notice blues and kind of a wavy pattern representing water. So earth, sky and water. Wearing this meant the Emperor rules over both sky and sea. Master and commander. Of Everything. Ever.
So if that’s what he wore what did she get to?
Actually there are not a lot of surviving court robes that were designed for women. Why? because old China was of hugely, enormously, especially by our modern standards, sexist and didn’t normally include women in important courtly things. It was basically a bro-fest. I would have said sausage-fest but that’s not entirely accurate either because eunuchs. But check it: the Met actually has one in it’s collection.
Apart from it being a different colour and all, you can see it has much the same tailoring with the addition of a collar. I’m including it because it gives an idea of what the complete outfit would have looked like. What you need to notice here is the same pattern: as triumph over nature. Now here’s what it would have looked liked in Yellow. The V&A actually has one in their collection but it’s missing the collar.
Then through that bit of history I hope you can see how Chinese history decided to visually communicate who was alpha. And because it was literally worn by the Chinese equivalent of Kings and Queens why these clothes are important landmarks in Chinese fashion history. So then it only makes sense that such important landmarks would want to be worn by modern kings and queens: The famous, but with a mod. twists for the new century. So while Pei’s tribute is a subtle play on these bad boys, there have been bolder tributes done for the new Emperors new clothes. Just take a peep at fellow Chinese designer Laurence Xu’s new imperial groove:
This his guy is in the V&A’s storage right now but was worn by none other than Fan Bingbing at Cannes Film Festival in 2010:
While this is a more direct tribute to the Dragon robe, than Pei’s dress, you can totally see where Xu gets all his inspiration from. It’s yellow: check. It’s got the dragon references:check. It’s being worn during a celebration and kind of a big deal event: Check. It’s being worn by someone important: Check.
Bottom line is :Yellow is Regal and those internet memes just show a knowledge gap turning towards a thing they didn’t fully understand.
Basically: Guo Pei’s dress is the dress that the Met Gala deserves and needs right now. But didn’t fully understand. So they hunted it. Because it can take it. Because it’s not a hero. It is a trendsetter, a silent guardian of Chinese fashion. A dark knight.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS:
Fan Bing Bing’s cape:
She is officially the caped crusader! This dramatic cape reminds me of the super elaborate roofs you find in palaces or temples and if you’ll forgive me my non-professional photographer skillz:
Those two guys are photos I took of the Po Lin Monastery. I happen to be quite in love with architectural flourishes. Also when you think about how these buildings are constructed, without nails, and, are a complicated series of cross-beams resting on each other, it's just impressive. They are also pretty darn earthquake resistant. Though My favourite part of these roofs are the corner bits are called dougang-literally cap and block in Chinese. They can take on animal shapes like butterflies or dragons like in the above photos.
Sarah Jessica Parker’s Headdress:
Accidental Beijing Olympics mascot Cosplay. But I can dig it. To be fair those guys were partly based on Chinese Opera costumes which are an important part of Chinese fashion history.
Chinese opera is pretty cool. It can tell a story so many different ways cause it uses so many different art forms like martial arts for example. This means you could watch a Kung Fu movie as a play. Totally. Immersive. Entertainment. Experience. Also much like Shakespeare, all the roles were played by male actors. Though that’s different now. But when you sit there and think about it: it’s half-way cool that by wearing it your wearing something only men got to wear. Points. Also I applaud the colour choice. Red in Chinese opera is brave and loyal. But let’s however ignore she also wearing a bad kind of red. You know those flowers on her cape are poppies. I mean really? If there was a more troublesome plant in Chinese history I cannot think of one. Seriously.
So that’s my met run down from an East Asian art nerd’s perspective. From the outside looking in. And desperately wishing she someday get’s to wear elegant couture. #sigh. In the mean time I’ll just have to satisfied that I got maximum wear value outta my degrees doing this.
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