Looks We Want to See at the 2020 Met Gala
A little over a week ago the theme for next years Met Gala was announced, “About Time: Fashion and Duration”. According to Andrew Bolton, the theme is “a reimagining of fashion history that’s fragmented, discontinuous, and heterogeneous.”
Bolton found inspiration for the theme in Sally Potter’s 1992 film Orlando, a British period drama film loosely based on Virginia Woolf's 1928 novel Orlando: A Biography. Bolton told Vogue, “There’s a wonderful scene in which Tilda Swinton (who plays Orlando in the film) enters the maze in an 18th century woman’s robe à la Francaise, and as she runs through it her clothes change to mid-19th century dress, and she re-emerges in 1850s England. That’s where the original idea came from.”
Courtesy Sally Potter.
Max Hollein, director of the Met, elaborated on the concept in a press release stating, “this exhibition will consider the ephemeral nature of fashion, employing flashbacks and fast-forwards to reveal how it can be both linear and cyclical. It might be juxtapositions between two designers from a certain period who were competitive, and one survived and one didn’t,” like “Chanel and Patou in the ’20s and Rei Kawakubo and Georgina Godley in the ’80s.”
The exhibit will be made possible by Louis Vuitton, and Bolton is working with visual artist and stage designer, Es Devlin, on the the exhibition design. The show itself will be “ghost narrated” by Virginia Woolf, with quotes from her time-based books including Orlando, Mrs. Dalloway, and To the Lighthouse appearing throughout the exhibition.
So now that you have a general understanding of the theme, check out the gallery below for runway looks / trends we want to see at the 2020 Met Gala!
An Ode to Glamour
From the Ming dynasty to the Roman empire, we’ve seen glamour evolve [from different cultures] through the centuries - some styles even persist to this day! We’re talking sequins, bustiers, silk, tulle…the works! We want to see traces of glamour from every era and culture; everything from ballroom gowns to The Little Black Dress.
An Ode to the Trench Coat
This trend needs no explanation. Maybe we’ll see some custom Burberry on our favorite gala attendees.
The Cape
An Ode to the Suit
Denim
High-rise; low-rise; flared; skinny; jumpsuit; pant suit…it doesn’t matter, you can’t talk about fashion and time without talking about denim. Period.
Utility
We’re here for the rise of cozy-chic. Fashion and comfort is a newer trend, but one of our absolute favorites! While there’s nothing new under the sun, this is the first time we’ve seen fashion be so…anti-fashion.
