I feel like I should do one of those “Previously on …” intros that new television episodes start with. Read this to yourself in an announcer-type voice: Previously, on this blog, Wendy Brandes bestowed her Best Dressed/Wear What You Want combo award for the 2018 Costume Institute Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art — aka the Met Gala — upon actress/producer/screenwriter Lena Waithe.
Lena was especially strong in the “Wear What You Want” portion of the competition, thanks to the LGBTQ rainbow flag she wore as a cape to an exhibit called “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.”
I am often tempted to cheat and split my combo award into two: One award for Best Dressed and one award for Wear What You Want. That would make the decisions much easier, but also less interesting, so I try to stick to my original combo concept. However, if I were going to pick someone just for Best Dressed, I would have gone for Cardi B in Moschino. It’s like she stepped out of an unusually sex-ay 16th-century portrait.
By unusually sex-ay, I’m referring to the bare legs, of course, not the cleavage, because I’m sure Queen Elizabeth I would have approved of the bodice. She would also have loved the gems and pearls on the dress though hers, of course, would have been the real thing. Still! Look at these details.
The headpiece, the gloves, the makeup, the hair. All perfect. This is art! The museum could have put a frame around Cardi and installed her in one of the European galleries and she would have fit right in.
She carried it so well, too, and looked so happy. I heart Cardi B!
Versace’s take on a museum-worthy dress would go in the Met’s Arms and Armor gallery: Zendaya’s Joan of Arc look killed.
Going back to European Paintings, we’ve got another great Moschino dress, worn by model Stella Maxwell.
Jeremy Scott has been the creative director of Moschino since 2011, and these are, by far, my favorite designs of his.
Accessory-wise, Stella’s hair was her crowning glory …
… but literal crowns, halos, and other headpieces abounded. Solange was one of my favorites, wearing a halo over a durag.
How is this for a cool, unexpected detail?
The silhouette of Solange’s Iris van Herpen dress silhouette reminded me of the Giles dress she wore to the Met Gala in 2015. Hey, if you can look amazing wearing a circle, I say do it as often as possible.
SZA’s half-halo, by jewelry designer CHRISHABANA, had an impressive width to it while still being delicately wrought.
She was dressed by Versace.
But SZA’s best moment on camera was definitely when she was mid-interview and Rihanna walked by. Like any sane person, SZA said, “Ooh, Rihanna, where?” and immediately headed off in Rihanna’s wake.
Actress Lily Collins had a full halo by LELET NY, but her makeup was the big attention-grabber, with a ruby-red tear by one eye.
Her makeup artist, Fiona Stiles, told The Hollywood Reporter, “I’d been thinking about rubies and stigmata and these virginal tears, all the religious iconography that goes with the theme.”
Lily’s Givenchy Couture gown was accented by the rosary she carried in her hand.
I’m out of time for the moment, but not out of Met Gala honorable mentions, so there will have to be a third post about this event. Ooh, it’s like when the words “To Be Continued” pop up at the end of your show’s episode and you say, “Noooooo!”