Yes, we all GAGGED over the red carpet looks (not all were winners) but one of the best Met Gala red carpets in a while, if you ask me. But you know, all of the hoopla and Instagram postings were for an exhibition –Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination at both The Met Fifth Avenue and The Met Cloisters. It is an ongoing dialogue between fashion and medieval art examining the ongoing love for all things glittery and gold, namely Catholicism.
Papal robes and accessories from the Sistine Chapel sacristy, many which have never been seen outside The Vatican, are on now view at the Anna Wintour Costume Center along with fashions from the early twentieth century to now being shown in the Byzantine and medieval galleries.
Newsweek declared in 2005, “The Pope Wears Prada”, not the devil, as fashion now dictates (little Anna nod there.) In an article describing Benedict XVI‘s sartorial inclinations they said,
“He may never make the best-dressed lists but Pope Benedict XVI is nothing short of a religious-fashion icon, riding in the Pope mobile with red Prada loafers under his cassock and Gucci shades.”
But within two years the pontiff DID make a best-dressed list on account of those red shoes. Esquire named him “Accessorizer of the Year” for his red shoes, made by Adriano Stefanelli, a cobbler from Novara, Italy. The color signifies the blood of Christ’s Passion and of Catholic martyrs as well as the devil and sin.
A martyr for sin AND fashion? Two things worth adoration…
Can I get an Amen?
Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination runs through October 8, 2018.
: @voguemagazine #metgala #metgala2018 #metheavenlybodies #heavenlybodies
Left: Processional cross, ca. 1000–1050. Byzantine. Silver, silver-gilt, overall: 23 7/16 x 16 15/16 x 7/8 in. (59.5 x 43 x 2.2 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Rogers Fund, 1993 (1993.163). Right: Gianni Versace. Evening dress, autumn/winter 1997–98. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Donatella Versace, 1999 (1999.137.1). Digital composite scan by Katerina Jebb
Left: Fragment of a floor mosaic with a personification of Ktisis (detail), 500–550, with modern restoration. Byzantine. Marble and glass, 59 1/2 x 78 5/8 x 1 in. (151.1 x 199.7 x 2.5 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Harris Brisbane Dick Fund and Fletcher Fund, 1998; Purchase, Lila Acheson Wallace Gift, Dodge Fund, and Rogers Fund, 1999 (1998.69; 1999.99). Right: Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana for Dolce & Gabbana. Ensemble, autumn/winter 2013–14. Courtesy of Dolce & Gabbana. Digital composite scan by Katerina Jebb
Left: Reliquary cross, 14th century. Italian. Enamel, silver-gilt, coral, glass, rock-crystal, gold leaf, overall (without tang): 16 15/16 x 14 1/2 x 1 1/8 in. (43 x 36.9 x 2.9 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of J. Pierpoint Morgan, 1917 (17.190.497). Right: Karl Lagerfeld for House of Chanel. Gilet, autumn/winter 2007–8 Métiers d’Art. Courtesy of CHANEL. Digital composite scan by Katerina Jebb
(via The Met)
