Is it me or was I the only one who was just a tad disappointed by the turnout at the New York Costume Institute Gala? Did nobody take note of the exhibition this event was in honour of? Paul "King of Fashion" Poiret? The sumptuous decadence, the exaggerated proportions, the fashion fantasies? It seemed everyone took wee baby steps towards giving a slight nod to Poiret and opted to look tried and tested instead bar a rare few… (Ok, don’t shoot me but I’m in the minority that admired the intentions of Kirsten Dunst’s outfit).
So that was the ‘party of the year’ done and dusted. What now? Well, to open the V&A’s upcoming ‘The Golden Age of Couture’ exhibition, there too will be a gala in London in September. The exhibition explores couture in Paris and London from 1947 (beginning with Dior’s New Look naturally…) to 1957. Over 100 pieces from the ‘hautes’ will be shown – Balenciaga, Hardy Amies, Givenchy, Balmain and Hartnell.
Exhibition aside, I will be ashamedly fascinated to see how the gala pans out with a committee chaired by Alexandra Shulman (British Vogue editor), John Galliano and Daphne Guinness. It’s also supposed to be styled like the era of couture so I expect it will be a wedding cake, unabashedly frilly and elegant affair.
I’m not exactly an avid follower of celebrities stalking red carpets but when these occasions for true decadence arise, I can’t help but pay attention and hopefully September’s gala on this side of the Atlantic won’t disappoint.
I admired Kirsten’s outfit. It was stylish, adventurous, extravagant and poiret like.
But I would agree with the majority that she could have done better with the makeup. Something brighter on either eyes or lips maybe.. Im no expert, but the colours could have been tweaked a little.
Aside from that. Im on your side.
It is a costume ball after all.
Yeah, for heaven’s sake it was a costume ball after all…the way it draped wasn’t so great, but I have to admit, the girl scores major points off me for everything else- I’m no fan of the celeb red carpet, but I love how, even with her seemingly ugliest/riskiest outfits, you can see where she’s going with it. Her style is her own. And that simple fact is invaluable.
I guess I’ll be the tiny minority that actually liked Karolina Kurkova’s dress..
I could see the Poriet inspiration and the pink looked great off her skin.
I guess people can’t forgive a fur wrap when they see it.
Also, I thought Kurkova’s ensemble draped much better then Kirsten’s. I liked the color of Kirsten’s gown but that was about it.
Huh? Yhere was an article in the new yorker about Poiret. Also, Jessica Stam wore a very Poiret-era, I think Klimt inspired gown…
http://thecoveted.blogspot.com/2007/05/god-damn-jessica-stam.html
It’s beautiful.
That said… the Met probably doesn’t come up with as good fashion exhibitions, because it’s a different kind of museum. Nothing compares to the V&A, nothing, because it’s in a class of it’s own.
i was dismayed but not surprised by all the unmitigated hate for kirsten dunst’s dress. the haters consistently (and revealingly) omitted any reference to poiret’s work–the gala’s celebratory raison d’√™tre. never more was the grand-canyon size abyss between the real fashion heads and the fakers more obvious than in the coverage of this event!! it would occasionally be nice if people who are knowledgeable about fashion were the ones doing the talking about fashion in the national pubs and on tv shows. (don’t know what it was like in ldn, but state-side, the nat’l coverage was lacking and misguided. or at least it seemed like it to me.) but, alas, that’s why i love the style blogs like stylebubble!
one last thing, jessica stam! that dior dress! gorgeous! quickly, how funny is this: one blogger, who posts on celebrity style and who hated this dress, identified ms. stam as “DJ AM’s girlfriend.” how funny!? different perspectives, different opinions…