Model Citizens at the MET Gala 2009
by Rie Cau posted on May 06, 2009Monday 4, May 2009 was the night when the fashion industry forgot all about the recklessness of recession and embrace and celebrate what fashion is all about: absolute beauty and glamourous luxurious high fashion.
Even with ticket prices for a dinner set starting at $7,500 USD and a prime table costing up to a grand total of $250,000 USD, signs of a successful sell out at the Opening Night of the annual Costume Institute Gala Dinner are evident.
The theme of the show this year is ”The Model as Muse“ with American Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour hosting the event and Kate Moss, Marc Jacobs and Justin Timberlake as co-hosts.
The red carpet event was as usual inundated with highly polished Hollywood starlets, but as suggested by the theme, the illuminated limelight shines upon the models.
With a sea of these perfectly formed beings in attendance, ultra mini skirts combined with high shine sparkles baring lean long legs naturally become the ultimate model uniform. Daria Werbowy and Anja Rubik both opted for these daring mini dresses by Christophe Decarnin of Balmain.
Lauren Hutton, who broke her leg two weeks ago in Hawaii, made it to the opening in style. She was dressed and accompanied by the All-American designer Michael Kors, whose dresses were also worn by muse Carmen Kass and model-turned-actress January Jones.
Alek Wek lit up the red carpet with her Emanuel Ungaro dress in fantastic fuchsia; while the Brazilian model, Raquel Zimmermann, made a fresh appearance as a bleached platinum blonde in an off-the-shoulder dress by Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough of Proenza Schouler.
Heidi Klum, the forth-time pregnant German model, was dressed in navy and black mille-feuille organza gown by J. Mendel. Undoubtedly, this Victoria‘s Secret angel showed the world that pregnancy and drop dead gorgeous may co-exist as a single entity.
Madonna, the original material girl and ad-campaign star of Louis Vuitton, was wearing a quirky combination from Vuitton‘s latest Fall/Winter 2009/10 collection: a corseted dress in teal and lace-up thigh-high boots complete with mischievous bunny ears. With such a unique style, it comes as no surprise that her majesty once again stood out from the uniform pack.
As expected, the Supermodels made a return.
Brooke Shields was dressed in an invigorating turquoise blue dress by Calvin Klein, whereas Cindy Crawford and Claudia Schiffer were both in Versace – emitting the boundless sexual energy of the iconic Versace woman of Gianni Versace ’s vision. Eva Herzigova opted for a billowing Dolce & Gabbana dress in beige, while Nadja Auermann went for a fluid one-shoulder goddess-like gown by Alber Elbaz of Lanvin. Amber Valetta irradiated a healthy glow on the red carpet in a long sunny yellow vintage James Galanos gown, whereas Kate Moss shone like a real-life goddess in a golden toga dress by Marc Jacobs.
Manifestly missing in the attendance list are Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista and Stephanie Seymour. These super trios were originally set to wear gowns by Azzedine Alaïa. However, they were pulled out from the event due to a dispute over the minute incorporation of Alaïa‘s work in the exhibit, despite his significance in shaping the fashion world over the last few decades.
Comments on the net have exploded as soon as the images have been released onto the press. Some of these comments express admiration, but others explicitly exemplify reactions of laughter and cry at the same time.
Well… After all, it‘s only fashion!
Please login or register to add a comment!