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| At the Met Gala, Minimalism Is a Relative Term | At the Met Gala, Minimalism Is a Relative Term |
| (about 9 hours later) | |
| The theme of the exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Anna Wintour Costume Center this year was fashion and technology. This meant that people like Andrew Bolton, the museum’s new head curator, along with Jonathan Ive of Apple — who served as a sponsor — spoke in lofty tones about the dichotomies of man versus machine, haute couture versus ready-to-wear, hand-sewn versus mass produced. | The theme of the exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Anna Wintour Costume Center this year was fashion and technology. This meant that people like Andrew Bolton, the museum’s new head curator, along with Jonathan Ive of Apple — who served as a sponsor — spoke in lofty tones about the dichotomies of man versus machine, haute couture versus ready-to-wear, hand-sewn versus mass produced. |
| For lay people, it meant a carefully curated exhibit of wild designer gowns and a gala celebration on Monday night at which the bulk of celebrity attendants wore metallics. | For lay people, it meant a carefully curated exhibit of wild designer gowns and a gala celebration on Monday night at which the bulk of celebrity attendants wore metallics. |
| Kanye West wore a loosefitting metallic jacket and a pair of colored contact lenses that turned his eyes a kind of iridescent blue. His wife, Kim Kardashian, wore metallic, beaded Balmain. | |
| The stylist Tabitha Simmons wore red and gold embroidered Dolce & Gabbana, looking rather like a chair in pre-revolutionary France. | The stylist Tabitha Simmons wore red and gold embroidered Dolce & Gabbana, looking rather like a chair in pre-revolutionary France. |
| And the Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o donned a celery-green, metallic Calvin Klein dress, and an updo that seemed to recall both “Star Wars” and Nina Simone. | And the Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o donned a celery-green, metallic Calvin Klein dress, and an updo that seemed to recall both “Star Wars” and Nina Simone. |
| At most major red carpet events, choices like these would be referred to as misfires. | At most major red carpet events, choices like these would be referred to as misfires. |
| Here at the Met Gala, they imply merely that the attendants took the theme to heart. | Here at the Met Gala, they imply merely that the attendants took the theme to heart. |
| For example, the Fox News host Megyn Kelly had on a navy, fitted Badgley Mischka dress. There was glitter in her hair, which had been slicked back, Brigitte Nielsen style. “It was a lot of fun to wear it in a way that would ordinarily inspire a phone call from second-floor management,” Ms. Kelly said. | |
| Sarah Jessica Parker wore 18th-century-inspired men’s wear and said the evening was like a master class in fashion. “Sometimes you get an A and sometimes, it’s a pass-or-fail situation,” said Ms. Parker, who earned a fair share of ire last year for one such outfit. | Sarah Jessica Parker wore 18th-century-inspired men’s wear and said the evening was like a master class in fashion. “Sometimes you get an A and sometimes, it’s a pass-or-fail situation,” said Ms. Parker, who earned a fair share of ire last year for one such outfit. |
| And Madonna had on a black lace Givenchy dress by Riccardo Tisci that left almost nothing about her rear end or her bosom to the imagination. | And Madonna had on a black lace Givenchy dress by Riccardo Tisci that left almost nothing about her rear end or her bosom to the imagination. |
| Does she ever hear back from Ms. Wintour after making choices like these? | Does she ever hear back from Ms. Wintour after making choices like these? |
| “Oh, she doesn’t speak to me,” Madonna said. “She does speak to Riccardo, though.” | “Oh, she doesn’t speak to me,” Madonna said. “She does speak to Riccardo, though.” |
| So anyway, the evening began on the red carpet just before 6 p.m., when Ms. Wintour arrived in a simple cream Chanel gown. | So anyway, the evening began on the red carpet just before 6 p.m., when Ms. Wintour arrived in a simple cream Chanel gown. |
| Though she may be the brains behind this operation — whose involvement over the last decade and a half turned a trade-show-like event into a global social swirl that rivals the Oscars — she actually wanted the attention to go to Mr. Bolton, who created the exhibit on his own this year, the first since the retirement of Harold Koda, the Met’s legendary costume chief. | Though she may be the brains behind this operation — whose involvement over the last decade and a half turned a trade-show-like event into a global social swirl that rivals the Oscars — she actually wanted the attention to go to Mr. Bolton, who created the exhibit on his own this year, the first since the retirement of Harold Koda, the Met’s legendary costume chief. |
| And the decisions about the exhibit, she said, were his entirely. | And the decisions about the exhibit, she said, were his entirely. |
| Furthermore, after a China-themed exhibition last year with set pieces and lighting design complex enough to rival a U2 show, the desire this year was to do something a little simpler. | Furthermore, after a China-themed exhibition last year with set pieces and lighting design complex enough to rival a U2 show, the desire this year was to do something a little simpler. |
| But minimalism is a relative concept when you are talking about an exhibit of fur boleros and dresses made entirely of bones. | But minimalism is a relative concept when you are talking about an exhibit of fur boleros and dresses made entirely of bones. |
| One minute, Lady Gaga was ascending the stairs in a bustierlike top with platform shoes, along with fishnet stockings and no pants. The next, Kate Hudson was inches away from her, wearing a white dress that seemed to have been constructed entirely from shards of plexiglass. In came Claire Danes, her long hair pulled back, her husband, Hugh Dancy, on one arm, the designer Zac Posen on another, and a baby blue dress with a train so long it took an actual bus to get her there. | One minute, Lady Gaga was ascending the stairs in a bustierlike top with platform shoes, along with fishnet stockings and no pants. The next, Kate Hudson was inches away from her, wearing a white dress that seemed to have been constructed entirely from shards of plexiglass. In came Claire Danes, her long hair pulled back, her husband, Hugh Dancy, on one arm, the designer Zac Posen on another, and a baby blue dress with a train so long it took an actual bus to get her there. |
| Ms. Danes was not kidding when she explained this, prompting an obvious question: Was it remotely comfortable? | Ms. Danes was not kidding when she explained this, prompting an obvious question: Was it remotely comfortable? |
| “Um,” she said. “I don’t know. I’m moving carefully and cautiously. And I’m going to throw the whole after party under my dress.” | “Um,” she said. “I don’t know. I’m moving carefully and cautiously. And I’m going to throw the whole after party under my dress.” |
| If no one was asking her if she was all right, that might just be because most of them were in a similar boat. | If no one was asking her if she was all right, that might just be because most of them were in a similar boat. |
| The model Alessandra Ambrosio wore another metallic Balmain that looked as if it had been made from the mirrors at Studio 54. | The model Alessandra Ambrosio wore another metallic Balmain that looked as if it had been made from the mirrors at Studio 54. |
| “It’s heavy and it’s uncomfortable,” she said, “which is how it should be when you’re coming to the Met Ball.” | “It’s heavy and it’s uncomfortable,” she said, “which is how it should be when you’re coming to the Met Ball.” |
| Even former Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg took the theme to heart. Looking over at his companion, Diana L. Taylor, he said, “She gave me a wood bow tie made by machine.” | Even former Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg took the theme to heart. Looking over at his companion, Diana L. Taylor, he said, “She gave me a wood bow tie made by machine.” |
| As in years past, the last major celebrity arrival was Beyoncé, who walked onto the red carpet at 8:40 p.m. in a nude-colored Givenchy dress that also had metallic embellishments and showed off her famous curves. | As in years past, the last major celebrity arrival was Beyoncé, who walked onto the red carpet at 8:40 p.m. in a nude-colored Givenchy dress that also had metallic embellishments and showed off her famous curves. |
| Arriving fashionably late seemed apropos this year, coming a week after the release of her new album, “Lemonade,” which hints strongly at possible past infidelity and discord in her marriage. | Arriving fashionably late seemed apropos this year, coming a week after the release of her new album, “Lemonade,” which hints strongly at possible past infidelity and discord in her marriage. |
| But she was not there to talk about that, or why her husband, Jay Z, was not on her arm. The only question she answered was about how long it took to get ready. “It was actually a lot easier than last year,” she said. | But she was not there to talk about that, or why her husband, Jay Z, was not on her arm. The only question she answered was about how long it took to get ready. “It was actually a lot easier than last year,” she said. |