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Now through September 7th, the Metropolitan Museum of Art has a costume exhibit called, China: Through the Looking Glass. It is all about the influence the different aspects of Chinese culture, such as porcelain, and Chinese landscapes, have on recent fashion. From Balenziaga to Yves Saint Laurent to Dior and Chanel, the variety of designers they displayed was endless. I had the opportunity to visit the exhibit and I documented it for all of you who are not able to visit it!
This was the first floor that the exhibit was on, and is my personal favorite because it just transformed you into a different world. Something that I thought was cool was that throughout the whole exhibit, they matched traditional Chinese robes to the recent designs of popular designers. Pictured below is a Chanel suit in a fabric that exactly matches this Chinese robe from the 1700s. It is interesting to see how designers take inspiration from things form so long ago.
My favorite piece in the whole entire exhibit is this yellow gown by Yves Saint Laurent. This is a true masterpiece. It is beautifully crafted with the finest of materials; silk covered with sequins and beads over the entire garment. On the bottom, the sequins make out the pattern of waves, the kind you see in ancient Chinese drawings.
The next section of the exhibit was absolutely breathtaking, it transformed the museum into a Chinese meditating garden that made you feel completely immersed in Chinese culture.
The next room was modeled after something that every person recognizes to be Chinese, porcelain. I think it is amazing how they took all these pieces of apparel from various different time periods, and by various different designers, and connected them to each other. For example, some of the pieces are from 2011, and others are from the 1940s, but they all connect because they draw their inspiration from the same place. In this section they even had a dress made out of porcelain, which is pictured at the bottom.
They had a room dedicated to Chinese battle techniques. Most of the pieces in this room are menswear, which was interesting to see. Most of the times, when there is a fashion exhibit, they focus on womenswear, but i like that they had a large amount of menswear
The shining star of this exhibit was this gorgeous gold embroidered gown by Guo Pei. Delicately made and beautifully crafted, from the bodice, to the train, this was by far the most intricate piece in the whole entire exhibit. Words or pictures cannot even describe how gorgeous this piece was, it truly speaks for itself.
Something that I need to comment on is the headpieces that were made for each of the pieces in the exhibit. They matched the piece that they were partnered with and the theme they were trying to convey perfectly.
And thats it, lovelies! My review/ overview of the exhibit at the Met is complete. Sorry, it’s a long one. The whole exhibit is extremely comprehensive and communicative of both Chinese culture and the influence it has on fashion. I recommend EVERYONE to go see it, if you have the chance. The rest of the photos from the exhibit are down below! Follow my instagram- @gabrielacasellafashion for more photos from the museum, and to keep up with the rest of my adventures in New York.
xoxo Gabriela
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