The Met Costume Institute Gala may is known as a fashion insider and a-list invite only party. But, when the carpets are rolled up, the half-sipped glasses of champagne are cleared and the posh crowd is gone, what is in it for us?
The Met Ball is the fund-raising event of the year that keeps exhibitions of costume history and archive housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This year, American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity which will be displayed from May 5, 2010–August 15, 2010, is the first exhibit since the transfer of the Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection to the New York City museum.
Though, I can't help but wonder if us Brooklynites are getting screwed once more. According to the Brooklyn Museum's press release, “For over a decade— and as a guiding principle—the Brooklyn Museum’s Trustees and senior management have set the highest priority on insuring the appropriate environment, exemplary stewardship, and broad access to this invaluable and fragile resource. After carefully considering various alternatives, we concluded that we could best accomplish our goals by sharing the collection with an institution whose experience with a similarly rich collection is already exceptional, and where the combination of these two outstanding collections would contribute to a deeper understanding of Western culture,” commented Dr. Lehman.
Translation: people don't want to cross the bridge into Brooklyn, especially the rich ones. Why couldn't Anna Wintour and famous friends send some of that benefit cash over here?
Just like my Manhattan friends who refuse visit me because they think I live in another state, or the Mayor of New York who refuses to lower our outer-borough blood pressure, or keep less cars on our potholed streets, it seems we will always be the ones staring across the river at the "big city."
Though, Brooklyn Museum will still retain some of their 23,000 piece collection. A shorter, smaller exhibition, American High Style: Fashioning a National Collection held May 7 through August 1), will highlight masterworks from the Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection.
Anyway, you're probably here for the pictures. Check out what the glitzy Manhattanite designers wore to the 2010 Met Gala.
For full coverage on the Met Costume Gala 2010, go to WWD.
