She Said, She Said: Post-Game Hissy Fit Analysis, Met Costume Institute Ball
Posted by bellastraniera - 05/05/09 at 12:05 pm
I would say that fashion is like high school, but that wouldn’t be fair: actually, it’s more like junior high. The amount of sniping that went on before this year’s Metropolitan Museum Costume Institute Ball – first with the bashing of Vogue and Anna Wintour’s involvement in the ball by author Michael Gross in the Post, then the hissy fit thrown by designer Azzedine Alaia, who felt snubbed by the museum – is unprecedented. But as models like Naomi Campbell and Stephanie Seymour dropped out of the “Model As Muse” event in support of Alaia, the show went on without them and seemed just as fun, just like that 7th grade mixer you refused to attend for a very important reason.
If the brouhaha surrounding this year’s event illuminates anything, it’s the clash between old and new definitions of “culture.” Surely the museum’s curators had no idea they were causing such grave offense by neglecting Alaia, who they thought would refuse to participate in a group show; after all, curators are intellectuals who’ve never had to do the seating chart for a fashion show. For the ’80s, the museum went in the direction of mass, choosing names that the average museum-goer would recognize from a sunglasses shop, like Versace and Armani. What’s interesting is that it was the fashion world that objected, expecting the museum to take the High Art road. Per celebrity ringmaster Marc Jacobs in the Times:
He’s very upset. Azzedine is a great friend of mine. I admire him so much… He’s had a huge influence on the way women are shaped, the way women look. I do think he’s one of the greatest influences. I’m really sad that he’s not part of this exhibition.
Well, fashion world: what ye sow, ye shall reap.
But now onto what’s really important – what people wore!!!! OMG.
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bellastraniera
a.k.a. Marcy Swingle - obsessed with food and fashion.
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