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For the first time, the Metropolitan Museum of Art will link two exhibitions for the Met Gala. The first exhibition, entitled In America: An Anthology of Fashion, was presented last September, while the second exhibition will be presented in May. The Met Gala will be held in New York City on May 2 and will be the hottest party of the year, bringing out lavishly dressed celebrities to the Met Gala showcasing this year’s theme, “Gilded Glamor.” The theme reflects New York City’s Gilded Age spanning 1870 to 1890.
Image courtesy of HBO
“Gilded Glamor” is a particularly exciting theme given the recent intense popularity of period dramas like “Bridgerton” and “The Gilded Age.” Entertainment media heavily influences American culture while fashion is symbolic of it (American culture), so this relationship is one to highlight. According to Andrew Bolton, Head Curator of the Met Costume Exhibit, “All of the rooms are connected by these curatorial threads, but they’re also connected through this cinematic lens. Every director has put their own imprimatur on each of them.”
The gala’s accompanying exhibit pairs nine film directors with period rooms that explore fashion’s role in shaping American identity. It is very likely that designers dressing celebrities for the Met Gala will also pull from cinema and television.
Image courtesy of HBO
HBO’s “The Gilded Age” is one example of popular media that designers might pull from, as it was highly revered for its designs by costume designer Kasia Walicka-Maimone. In the series, fashion reflected American cultural values relative to “new money” and “old money” in New York City. In an interview with Women’s Wear Daily, Walicka-Maimone explains distinctions between characters stating, “Russell’s costumes were a stark contrast to the central “old money” characters of Agnes and Ada, who both stick with monochromatic jewel tones, with the former regularly wearing shades of purple and blue while the latter wears gold, orange, and red.” The use of color is one of the most important elements of the Gilded Age, as the period marked the start of synthetic dye use. Walicka-Maimone also says that for all the characters, “The silhouette is the same—nobody would dare break the silhouette.” Walicka-Maimone also emphasizes the heavy adornments worn by women during the Gilded Age and the subtle and not-so-subtle ways women from different social classes differentiated themselves.
Walicka-Maimone alludes to three essential elements of women’s Gilded Age fashion: synthetically dyed fabrics, a restrictive silhouette rule, and heavy ornamentation. If designers and celebrities have done their research, Fashion Reverie expects most fashion pieces to show a modern interpretation of these elements. According to Lydia Strickling in her article “Gilded Age Fashion,” for NPS (National Park Service), “Clothing was often vibrantly colored, thanks to the increased use of synthetic dyes, which were still a fairly new innovation. Women’s clothing featured multiple colors in the same outfit, something that was uncommon prior to this decade. It was fashionable to layer vibrant colors on top of dark ones. A popular combination was plum and navy blue.” Fashion Reverie expects celebrities to emphasize the Gilded Age’s rich color palette, with the best-dressed celebrities wearing multicolored pieces.
Image courtesy of The Antique Jewellery Company
Strickling also writes, “Around 1876, the “princess line” style became popular. This encompassed bodices and corsets with vertical seams rather than horizontal ones, which tightly hugged the body of the wearer. Long sleeves and high necklines were also features of this style, which was named for the Alexandra, the Princess of Wales.” For women, the silhouette during the Gilded Age was highly restrictive at the waist, voluminous at the back, and featured an excess of layers.
Men’s clothing, according to FIT’s 1880-1889 Fashion History Timeline “was marked by a long, slender frame. Suits were cut closer to the body, creating a tall, slim line. The frock coat, featuring a waist seam with a full skirt, remained the most formal daywear in town. Sportswear [also] played a special role in menswear. The blazer, a single-breasted lounge jacket, often made in brightly colored stripes, was usually paired with light-colored flannel trousers ….” At the Met Gala, Fashion Reverie expects gender fluidity to reign supreme, with some men wearing voluminous gowns and some women wearing bright sportswear. Either way, simple black dresses, and black ties should seldom grace the carpeted steps.
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Fashion Reverie expects one of the most exciting elements of this year’s gala to be a plethora of intricate hairstyles and headpieces. FIT’s Fashion History Timeline notes, “hats were worn directly on top of the head, and they grew greatly in height becoming tall and narrow, eventually rising to such heights they were mocked as “Four Stories and a Basement.” We expect nothing less than four stories and a basement at the gala!
From head to toe, Fashion Reverie also expects extensive use of trims from ribbons, ruffles, bows, and lace. In terms of designers celebrities might wear, American designers might be most appropriate given the theme; however, fashion during the Gilded Age was heavily influenced by European fashion from designers like Charles Frederick Worth, so foreign designs are also expected.
Image courtesy of Christopher John Rogers
We predict many to wear Christopher John Rogers, an American designer, and Maison Valentino by Pierpaolo Piccioli due to both designers’ focus on highly saturated fabrics and intricate silhouettes. Both brands have featured large colorful feathered hats in recent collections, on theme with “Gilded Glamor.”
This year’s Met Gala has the potential to be the best one yet with its focus on decoration and excess, so it will undoubtedly be exciting to see how celebrities and designers interpret the theme on May 2, right before the exhibition opens on May 7! The Met Gala will be live-streamed courtesy of Vogue starting at 6 p.m. EST. Stay tuned!
—Tessa Swantek
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