January 18, 2024

Women Dressing Women Costume Exhibit at The Met

“The Costume Institute’s fall 2023 exhibition will explore the creativity and artistic legacy of women fashion designers from The Met’s permanent collection, tracing a lineage of makers from the turn of the twentieth century to the present day by highlighting celebrated designers, new voices, and forgotten histories alike.

Women Dressing Women will feature the work of over seventy womenswear designers, spanning ca. 1910 to today, including French haute couture from houses such as Jeanne Lanvin, Elsa Schiaparelli, and Madeleine Vionnet, to American makers like Ann Lowe, Claire McCardell, and Isabel Toledo, along with contemporary designs by Iris van Herpen, Rei Kawakubo, Anifa Mvuemba, and Simone Rocha.”

— The Met

I love that The Met is doing two different costume exhibits a year now. This one only runs for three months, so obviously I had to go this week. Highlights below!

Maria Grazia Chiuri and Grace Wales Bonner at House of Dior, 2020, edition 2022

Sarah Burton at Alexander McQueen, spring/summer 2012

I remember when they last showed this McQueen piece in 2016 (at the Manus x Machina exhibit) and they’re finally highlighting the back of it, which I love.

Rei Kawakubo at Comme des Garçons, spring/summer 1997

So in love with the story behind this design (above).

Melitta Baumeister, autumn/winter 2021-2022

At first glance, I really hated this one (above) and then after a few minutes it really grew on me, especially considering the fact that it’s a product of its time period.

Kate Mulleavy and Laura Mulleavy at Rodarte, autumn/winter 2006-2007

My favourite piece of the whole collection, by far.

Kate Mulleavy and Laura Mulleavy at Rodarte, autumn/winter 2006-2007 (the back of the dress)

And I love that someone had the good sense to put a mirror behind this one so we could see the all of the details.

The exhibit runs now until March 3rd.

May 30, 2022

In America: A Lexicon of Fashion at The Met (Updated Pieces!)

by Liz Heather in Best of NYC

So I already reviewed this exhibit, but I went back recently and it’s been updated with new pieces! Why would they do this? The only reason I can come up with is because part two of the exhibit (that came out a few weeks ago) was so revoltingly done that they had to save face. Makes sense! Favourites ahead.

the met costume exhibit in america a lexicon of fashion liz Heather NYC fashion marc jacobs — Marc Jacobs, Autumn/Winter 2020

Are we kidding here? All those shades of lilac? Heavenly and way too much fun.

the met costume exhibit in america a lexicon of fashion liz Heather NYC fashion anne fogarty — Anne Fogarty, Autumn/Winter 1962-1963

Warmth & elegance at once!

the met costume exhibit in america a lexicon of fashion liz Heather NYC fashion Jamie Okuma — Jamie Okuma, 2021

I think my favourite part of this one is the neckline. One day necklines will be deemed important again and on that day, I will rejoice.

the met costume exhibit in america a lexicon of fashion liz Heather NYC fashion Adolfo — Adolfo, 1973-1974

This yellow frock SHOULD seem matronly, but somehow it isn’t? The simple sweetness of it is contagious.

the met costume exhibit in america a lexicon of fashion liz Heather NYC fashion Vaquera — Vaquera, Autumn/Winter 2019

If there isn’t humour in fashion, we might as well all kill ourselves.

the met costume exhibit in america a lexicon of fashion liz Heather NYC fashion Luchen — Lùchen, Spring/Summer 2022

Honestly kind of shocked we haven’t seen Rihanna wear this yet. Oh to be taking an accidental nap on a porch swing in this beauty.

the met costume exhibit in america a lexicon of fashion liz Heather NYC fashion oscar de la renta — Oscar de la Renta, Autumn/Winter 2021-2022

A definite favourite of this whole collection, it’s so full of whimsy. A walking garden, what could be better.

the met costume exhibit in america a lexicon of fashion liz Heather NYC fashion virgil abloh — Virgil Abloh, 2022

I really did gasp at this one as soon as I saw it. Romantic, modern pieces like this make me believe in magic. It reminded me immediately of the Rodarte piece (that was displayed in this same exhibit late last year). Breath-taking, even with the basic-ness of the top - it’s letting the skirt shine even stronger.

the met costume exhibit in america a lexicon of fashion liz Heather NYC fashion collina strada — Collina Strada, Autumn/Winter 2019

God, this would be fun to wear. It’s kind of insane alone (still beautiful), but with some giant long coat on top? Or, oh god, something with feathers?? You’d be unstoppable.

the met costume exhibit in america a lexicon of fashion liz Heather NYC fashion Threeasfour — threeASFOUR, Autumn/Winter 2019-2020

I spent at least five minutes staring at this one. It’s fucking ART.

God, this whole updated collection was incredible. It’s wild what proper lighting and display areas will do, who would have thought? Both parts of the exhibit are on display until September 5th.

I also wrote more about each piece on my spring ‘22 highlight reel on Instagram (more specifically where I would wear each of these gorgeous pieces), incase you’re interested.

May 28, 2022

In America: An Anthology of Fashion Exhibit at The Met

by Liz Heather in Events, Personal

the met costume exhibit 2022 in america an anthology of fashion NYC liz Heather

I just saw part two of The Met’s newest costume exhibit and… woof. It might be the worst one they’ve ever had? Which is weird because part one was done so well (as noted over here).

“The second portion of a two-part exhibition exploring fashion in the United States is presented in collaboration with The Met’s American Wing. This section of the exhibition will highlight sartorial narratives that relate to the complex and layered histories of the American Wing period rooms. Men’s and women’s dress dating from the eighteenth century to the present will be featured in vignettes installed in select period rooms spanning from 1805 to 1915.”

— The Met

And look, if you know anything about me and The Met, you already know how much I LOVE the period rooms (they’re one of the reasons I always return each summer). But it was a spectacularly bad idea to showcase clothing inside of them. Many of the rooms have been staged by American directors (Sofia Coppola, Martin Scorsese, Regina King, Julie Dash, etc.) and while that sounds cool, it’s kind of useless. For starters, the rooms are so dimly lit that you can barely see any of the details on the clothing. Also, the mannequins wearing the pieces are placed SO FAR AWAY from the roped-off viewing areas. See for yourself.

Doesn’t this seem oddly terrible for The Met to produce? I honestly just felt confused at first, but that confusion quickly turned to annoyance (and a little bit of rage). People come to this exhibit each year to SEE THE CLOTHING UP CLOSE. Why is that so difficult to understand? Now if they’d only displayed the entire collection in the manner they did with this George Washington coat (below) I could happily shut my mouth.

kim k pete davidson george washington coat the met costume exhibit 2022 in america an anthology of fashion NYC liz Heather

Am I being too harsh? There’s more! All of the pieces that weren’t being shown in period piece rooms were presented on a platform in THE darkest room inside the entire museum on mannequins that were contorted for some reason?? Can someone explain this me? Are these dresses or fancy sheets draped over bodies? No one knows.

If this were twenty years ago when The Matrix came out, at least then would I understand the positioning of these mannequins. How could it get any worse, you ask? Well, the names of the designers of each piece aren’t even NEAR each design. They’re all collectively on a plaque that’s near the outer wall of the room. So not only can you not accurately VIEW each piece (what fun!), but you also have no idea who the hell designed what! Sweet! That’s just what I wanted when visiting A COSTUME EXHIBIT. Just an abomination.

martin scorsese the met costume exhibit 2022 in america an anthology of fashion NYC liz Heather — The Frank Lloyd Wright Room by Martin Scorsese

These were the two pieces (that I could actually see) that were my only favourites in the whole bunch (below).

sofia coppola the met costume exhibit 2022 in america an anthology of fashion NYC liz Heather — The McKim, Mead & White Stair Hall by Sofia Coppola

Other than those two, the best item in part two was this gorgeous Tiffany lamp. (If you don’t know anything about them, they’re a thing.) So beautiful to see in real life.

tiffany lamp the met costume exhibit 2022 in america an anthology of fashion NYC liz Heather

tiffany lamp description the met costume exhibit 2022 in america an anthology of fashion NYC liz Heather

After this horrid experience, I needed to decompress so I headed over to part one (that came out last year) and they added new pieces! So I’m going to do another post on that one this week. (Spoiler: they’re breath-taking.)

It’s honesty wild how bad part two was, just jaw droppingly rough. On the bright side, it’s comforting to realize that even an institution as highly respected at The Met can still completely drop the ball and remind you that power doesn’t automatically mean success. God, what a disaster.

The exhibit runs until September 5, 2022 and if you aren’t in New York and would like to see a glimpse, there’s a tour video below of part two; don’t tell me I didn’t warn you. (And you can see my whole walk-through on my Instagram stories over here.)