This year’s “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination” themed Met Gala is sure to be interesting, to say the least.
The Met Gala is the annual fundraising event for the Met’s Costume Institute. Held on the first Monday of May each year, the event marks the opening of the season’s newest and usually, most anticipated exposition. This years theme is based around Catholicism and we can’t wait to see the elaborate gowns that will be sported.
According to the Met, the exposition will host actual holy wear,
“serving as the cornerstone of the exhibition, papal robes and accessories from the Sistine Chapel sacristy, many of which have never been seen outside The Vatican, will be on view in the Anna Wintour Costume Center. Fashions from the early twentieth century to the present will be shown in the Byzantine and medieval galleries, part of the Robert Lehman Wing, and at The Met Cloisters.”
Museum directors have explained a bit of the rational for the event’s controversial theme saying, “the Roman Catholic Church has been producing and promoting beautiful works of art for centuries. Most people have experienced that through religious paintings and architecture. This is another way of sharing some of that beauty that rarely gets seen.”
Andrew Bolton, the curator in charge of the exposition said in an interview with the New York Times that the “vision for the project would explore the way the Catholic church had served as an inspiration to designers through the centuries.”
And designers sure have been inspired. Just take the iconic papal and Cathloic imagery from brands like Dolce and Gabbana and Versace, who’s sponsoring the Gala event.
Bolton had consulted with different Catholic groups, including Cardinal Dolan, the archbishop of New York, to identify which garments would be the most appropriate and which might cause drama for the event. However, he concluded that no matter what, it is important to host events that reflect contemporary interests.
This years controversial theme will do just that as the place of religion in today’s increasingly more secular world does serve for some intense conversation starters. More so, the Gala tends to create serious publicity for the Met which in turn brings regular Joe’s into the museum.
After last years more intimate Gala gathering, this year is set to host more than 500 guests, and 50,000 square feet of exposition space with garments coming from across the world.
Hosts of the event this year will be Anna Wintour of course, Rihanna, Amal Clooney and the Schwarzman’s, donors who have heavily patronized this particular exposition.
With tickets selling at more than $30,000 a piece and available by invitation only, it better be a party worthy of a Pope.
Featured image: independent.co.uk