Stars from fashion, film, music, arts and sports came out in full force on Monday night as the 69th edition of the annual Met Gala 2017 surfaced in New York. Held on the first of May every year, it is the most fashionable fundraiser in the world, held to support the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute.
Bollywood beauty Priyanka Chopra made her Met Gala debut this year. She wore a Ralph
Lauren floor-sweeping trench coat and picked up mixed reviews for it.
Stars from fashion, film, music, arts and sports came out in full force on Monday night as the 69th edition of the annual Met Gala 2017 surfaced in New York. Held on the first of May every year, it is the most fashionable fundraiser in the world, held to support the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute.
Like all past editions, this particular soiree also had a theme which was Japanese designer Rei Kawakubo, founder of a fashion label called Comme des Garçons (Art of the In-Between) who is known for her “experimental clothes” and for “blurring the boundaries when it comes to gender”.
Claire Danes interpreted the avant garde brief perfectly. She combined “the deconstructed look, a technique made famous in part by Kawakubo” with a white Monse shirt. Ditto for Tracee Ellis Ross, who opted for an unusual-shaped deep-blue Comme des Garçons creation and rocked it with grace.
Colloquially referred to as fashion’s most “conceptual” designer, the stature of Rei Kawakubo in the fashion universe can be observed with the fact that no living designer has had an entire show dedicated to them by The Costume Institute since Yves Saint Laurent in 1983.
Not all attendees managed to rise to the challenge of avant-garde dressing which in this context means “new and experimental”. Most went along with what can only be dubbed as safe creations, the antithesis of what Kawakubo stands for. However, the rare few who did manage to turn heads on the 150-foot-long red carpet for all the right reasons were individuals who chose this moment to wear a creation by the designer who was being honoured.
Actor and rapper Riz Ahmed wore an all-black, sheenladen tuxedo from Dior Homme while Mr. Robot star Rami Malek opted for a bold red Dior Homme suit.
Pop icon Katy Perry was the co-chair of the evening and chose a bizarre John Galliano creation but it was as outrageous as it was inexplicable a look. On the other hand, Rihanna managed to win over fashion critics and the Internet collectively in a 3-D petalled look from Rei Kawakubo’s fall 2016 collection.
Similarly, Claire Danes’s homage to the Japanese designer could be seen in her outfit, which was a combination of “the deconstructed look, a technique made famous in part by Kawakubo“ paired off with a white Monse shirt. Actor and producer Tracee Ellis Ross also looked smashing in a royal blue Comme des Garcons creation.
Tennis champion, Serena Williams, made her first post-pregnancy red carpet appearance in a curve-hugging custom Atelier Versace design while another tennis legend, the inviolable Roger Federer, accompanied by wife Mirka, made a spectacular fashion statement in a Gucci tuxedo with a cobra emblazoned on the back.
Katy Perry’s bizarre John Galliano creation didn’t find too many fans.
In the worst dressed category, the top honour belonged to Madonna who chose a military-inspired green Moschino creation. Priyanka Chopra’s Ralph Lauren floor-sweeping trench coat evening gown earned mixed reviews from critics and fans alike.
Plenty of men also dressed up for the occasion including Tom Brady, Hasan Minhaj, Nick Jonas, Diplo, Eddie Redmayne, Donald Glover and Aziz Ansari.
Actor and rapper Riz Ahmed wore an all-black, sheen-laden suit from Dior Homme and knocked it out of the part. Another person who really did stand out, more than any other man on this night was Mr. Robot star Rami Malek, who opted for a bold all-red Dior Homme suit. While some have mocked him, it has also been pointed out that Kawakubo coined the phrase “red is black” and the colour plays a central role in her fashion universe.
