When it comes to red carpet events it doesn't get much bigger than the Met Gala. Unlike other big carpet events, this one is particularly special as it sees designers collaborate with their chosen celebrities on never before seen looks that tie in to the selected theme.
In the past we've had 'model as muse' as a theme and last year was all about Alexander McQueen but this year's event celebrates the opening of The Metropolitan Museum of Art's much-anticipated Miuccia Prada and Elsa Schiaparelli exhibit. So with the excitement for this year's event in full swing, take a look back at some of the best looks from last year.
Which look is your favourite and who are you looking forward to see this year?
Last year's Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty exhibition following it's incorporation as the the theme of the Met Gala was a big success - record breaking, in fact - so the pressure has been on for the Costume Institute to collaborate with a new designer this year to match the success. As expected, today they confirmed that next year's exhibit will showcase the work of Elsa Schiaparelli and Miuccia Prada's designs at Prada.
“Once we got Schiaparelli as the core part of what we wanted to do, it became a logical jump to Miuccia. They are both Italian women, and even though Miuccia might not describe herself as a feminist, what we see is these two very strong women with a very strong aesthetic,” Harold Koda, Curator in charge of The Costume Institute, explained when asked about their decision to choose the designers for next year's exhibit. “They are both very provocative for their time,” he continued. “We thought it would be very interesting to pit these two women together in an anachronistic conversation.”
Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana lacked subtlety as usual as they tributed Surrealism pioneer Elsa Schiaparelli in Milan, and Miss E would likely have been proud of the results. Ballooned shoulders, flashes of hot pink and general over-the-top presentation served Dolce & Gabbana well.
Confession: I almost missed the Francois Lesage and Raymond Massaro show at haute couture week because the concierge at my hotel gave some wonky directions. Thanks to an extra speedy cab driver and the good will of the fashion gods, the crisis was averted.
It's a good thing it all worked out because Lesage and Massaro know how to pull off a theme. With their show in an old, red-carpeted cinema, the two showed off everything from a mesh-chested wedding dress (not for the modest) to a seriously 18th-century whaleboned corset that would have looked perfect on Keira Knightley in The Duchess. The vibe was 1920s film noir, and though most of their line of corsets veered to the bizarre, they worked it.
