The Met Gala Breaks Down Barriers

The Met Gala is one of fashion’s biggest nights of the year. Every spring, the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art hosts a massive fundraising celebration in honor of the opening of its annual fashion exhibit. Prominent celebrities and public figures wear breathtaking ensembles in accordance with the exhibit’s theme as they walk down the coveted red carpet. On October 21, the Met announced its much-anticipated theme for the 2017 gala—Comme des Garcons. For the first time since 1983, a living designer, Rei Kawakubo, and her brand, Comme des Garcons, will be featured.

Now, you may recognize Comme des Garcons by its PLAY label’s little red heart with eyes, but who is Rei Kawakubo and what’s the story behind her line? Here is STITCH’s guide to Comme des Garcons and what you can expect to see the hottest celebs wearing this May.  

As a self-taught fashion mogul, Rei Kawakubo challenges the stereotypical idea of beauty. She designs for the strong and the fearless, particularly focusing on the idea of “in- betweenness.” This means that Kawakubo draws on the contrast between ideas such as self and other, male and female, and fashion and anti-fashion, in order to pursue the unexpected and create revolutionary fashion. In 1995, Kawakubo told Vogue, “Comme des Garcons is a gift to oneself, not something to appeal or to attract the opposite sex.” And this assertion remains true today. Each collection becomes increasingly daring and controversial as Kawakubo follows her unforeseen intuition.

In her most recent collection, spring 2017, Kawakubo was inspired by the idea of “invisible clothes.” Metaphorically, Kawakubo expressed how the clothes we wear allow us to blend into our communities, becoming “invisible” in a sense. Yet, the fashions on the runway did not go unnoticed. Dramatic shapes, extravagant hats, and dark colors were all embraced among the different looks.  

The Met Gala exhibit will feature 120 of Kawakubo’s women’s creations, ranging from her first Paris show in 1981 to her most recent collection. There will be no physical barriers between the mannequins and the public, playing into the theme of defying boundaries.

So now that we know the theme, the big question is how will the queens of the industry, such as Kim Kardashian and Beyonce, embrace the Comme des Garcons label? Undoubtedly, we can expect to see dramatically structured pieces and lots of black—two of Kawakubo’s signatures. But only time will tell how Kawakubo’s over-the-top designs will translate onto the red carpet.