Was
Sarah Jessica Parker’s headdress offensive? Is the bottom having its
day? Can you be too subtle? And why are Beyoncé and Kim Kardashian
morphing into one? We answer these and other sartorial questions
Beyoncé with Jay Z and Kim Kardashian with Kanye West at the Met Ball 2015.
Photograph: Getty Images
Did anyone dress offensively?
The big question hanging over the Met Ball’s red carpet ahead of the
event was: how much guests would embrace this year’s Chinese theme and
who would cross the line into offensive sartorial stereotype dressing.
Each year, the Costume Institute Gala has a focus, and sometimes a dress
code, based around the exhibition. This year there were no rules and
red carpet watchers braced themselves for a car crash of cultural
appropriation. In the main this didn’t happen. “China: through the
looking glass” inspired twists on Chinese dressing – designer cheongsam,
headgear and gowns in auspicious yellow all made an appearance. Sarah
Jessica Parker’s headpiece by Philip Treacy was arguably too close to
the stereotyping bone. Her flaming-red number was more dragon costume
than chic, despite the actor having form for extravagant headdress on
the red carpet. SJP claimed that the real story was her dress which she
helped design with the H&M Conscious collection (not buying that,
sorry). The internet disagreed, and christened the headdress a homage to
Heat Miser. Meanwhile what Rihanna’s dress lacked in taste in one
sense, the “cheese omelette” gown
made up for it in another. Designed by Chinese couturier Guo Pei, it
showed how support for Chinese designers is way more powerful than
literal dressing.
Sarah Jessica Parker attends the ‘China: Through The Looking Glass’ Met
Ball in a Philip Treacy headdress and her own dress design in
collaboration with H&M. Photograph: George Pimentel/WireImage
But who did the theme well?
Anne Hathaway was careful. Her liquid-gold hoodie gown was designed
by Ralph Lauren, whose collection had been inspired by a Chinese artist.
Meanwhile, designer Michael Kors dubbed his dress for Kate Hudson as
“Traditional Asian with a Californian twist”, which sounds like fusion
cuisine at its most expensive. But the winners included Georgia May
Jagger, whose lilac Gucci embroidered dress made her look louche,
modern, traditional and hot, and Grace Coddington, who proved that there
is nothing more chic and confident than a woman in a pair of pyjamas.
Anne Hathaway in Ralph Lauren at the Met Ball 2015. Photograph: John Lamparski/Getty Images
How fashion was it?
Capital F, obviously. The Met Ball is tiresomely dubbed “the Oscars
of fashion”, but it is true; guests here have licence to put pushing the
style envelope ahead of the studio paycheck. Witness Alexa Chung
looking divine in Erdem and showcasing a pair of haute sideburns, which
will have appealed much more to a Wintour crowd than a Weinstein one.
FKA twigs meanwhile wore one of Christopher Kane’s lace lovers dresses,
which is this season’s get-it-or-go-home challenge. Special mention for
Solange Knowles’s Giles Deacon Star-Wars-meets-moules-marinière dress.
FKA twigs in Christopher Kane at the Met Ball 2015. Photograph: Broadimage/Rex Shutterstock
Who missed the memo?
Amal Clooney,
Dakota Johnson, Reese Witherspoon, Carey Mulligan, Uma Thurman, Hailee
Steinfeld … basically if you weren’t prepared to wear a Chinese
designer, engage with the theme or go Fashion (see above), then you
shouldn’t have been granted a $25,000 ticket. Risk-averse dressing is
not an option at the Met Ball.
George and Amal Clooney – wearing John Galliano for Maison Margiela. Photograph: Startraks Photo/Rex Shutterstock
Is half-arsed the new side-boob?
If you thought the red carpet had exhausted its roll call of the body
parts it is fashionable to flaunt, then you were woefully wrong. Right
now the bottom – or some of it – is where it’s at. We’re calling it the
half-arsed look – half-arsed also because it doesn’t really cut it in
style terms. Jennifer Lopez’s Versace number flashed the side of her
rear, while Beyoncé flashed her upper bum. The main objection to the
latter being not the risque factor but the Girl’s World ponytail which
made her head look like a spinning top at rest.
Jennifer Lopez in Versace at the Met Ball 2015. Photograph: Broadimage/Rex Shutterstock
Are Bey and Jay morphing into Kimye?
The gauzy dress, the over-the-shoulder pose, the spill of a back hem
and the dinner-jacketed date. It’s all getting rather repeat play for
our liking. Because for all their beauty and sparkle, both women are
starting to look forgettable. Kim claimed her inspiration was not
Beyoncé at the Met Ball in 2012 but Cher at the first Met Ball in 1971,
and everyone knows that you try to out-Cher Cher at your peril.
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