Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion is the theme of the Met Museum Costume Institute exhibition, but the dress code for tonight’s gala takes inspiration from the J. G. Ballard short story “The Garden of Time,” which is about the decay of a garden – a metaphor for societal collapse.
Expect attendees to go the literal route, with plenty of florals from the likes of Dolce & Gabbana and Jonathan Anderson who, as the head designer of gala sponsor Loewe, has several of his Spring/Summer 2023 looks with grass growing out of them in the exhibition.
Alexander McQueen is sure to be in abundance, with his undertones of death and decomposition.
Sleeping Beauties is laid out in three sections: land, sea and sky, so we’re likely to see a lot of natural textures, such as Yiqing Yin’s Fall 2013 coral dress or the entirety of Mugler’s Fall 1997 couture collection.
I also fully expect someone (*cough* Lady Gaga *cough*) to show up in Viktor & Rolf’s Fall 2005 bed dress.
