The scene at last night’s superhero-themed “Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy” Costume Institute Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art could be summed up best, by, well, a bona fide superhero. “I hate broccoli, and yet, in a certain sense, I am broccoli” said the Tick. Because let’s face it, if last night’s event was told through a society-style column - rather than bandwidth-burdening HQ pics, live feed videos, and threads multiplying at breakneck speed - it would have been a fashion jeremiad. (Because even some of the naysayers fell, too). The theme promised so much, perhaps too much, seeing as what came down the redcarpet was a prom-style vomit of a poorly-interpreted motif. So much anticipation, so many expectations, and yet, the next morning, you’re left wishing you had made shrewder decisions. And it’s not even because the guests had chosen Michael Kors (save for Kirstin Davis, that is). Rather, the gowns were, more or less, respectable floor-skimming numbers by reputable names. How….safe. As the Tick would say, they hate the Old School Hollywood Glamour and yet, in a sense, they are the Old School Hollywood Glamour.
As for the best of the bunch, they fell (generally) into one of two camps: highly thematic and deeply personal. Bosworth, Ricci, and Valletta fell into the former, while Olsen and Coppola into the latter, their maximally minimal style ever-present. Airan, who wore a diaphanous chiffon Rodarte, straddled the two worlds; it winked at the theme’s highly dramatic narrative, but was an obvious choice for the devout Rodarte fan.



Who was Ashley wearing?
Anyone know?
Diane Von Furstenberg
Old school Hollywood glamour: the most exhausted 4-word combination.
Dresses like the Rodarte one seem best suited for models such as Irina K. (who wore it down the runway–I think)
Is it only me or does it become disappointing when normal people start wearing the fantastical gowns whipped into shape by the designers’ colorful imaginations? Personally, I like for the fantasy stories to remain on the runway and not pulled apart into unattractive bits when worn on the red carpet. bleh.
Oh, Riccardo is such a genius. That dress is one of the best things I’ve seen for ages. And Ricci wears it so well.
I’m not that keen on Coppola’s ensemble, though, but that’s her style anyway.
I’m pretty disappointed about the Costume Institute Gala this year. They could have took this year’s theme and ran with it. With that said, my favourites are of course, Ricci and Rachel Bilson.
Ricci looked like she was about to have a serious nipslip the entire time but the dress is fab
bosworth- like the dress-love the shoes hate the makeup and hair.
Airan- LOVE the shoes- like the dress but the execution just seems… off
Everyone else you mentioned is so safe, blech.
I vote wintour (pure crazy) & gisele (pure sexy) & Lauren David/Santo Domingo but only because she came with Olivier!!
Yes Adrian, La Wintour should definitely be in the top! I seriously wasn’t expecting anything so sculptural.
Wintour killed it that night. She’s my top cat.
Uch, Wintour looked terrible. There is no body with hips thin enough that you need to put shell-like balloon shapes on them, and no excuse for the overall hideousness of that dress.
On the upside, at least it wasn’t boring.
As for the rest- Sofia Copolla looked terrible, Christina Ricci looked great but for the nasty red star in the back (not in the pictures here, I see). Yes, it fit the theme, but we do need to draw a line between superhero and fashion regardless of how much one influenced the other.