Reimagining the In-Between

The theme of the 2017 Met Gala honored Rei Kawakubo and the brand which she founded in Tokyo in 1969: Comme des Garçons (CDG). This marked a historically significant event as far as Met Gala themes are concerned because it was only the second time a living designer had been selected as the show’s theme, following Yves Saint Laurent in 1983 (Vogue). The theme was also accompanied by an exhibition at the Met titled Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between. The exhibition traced four decades of Kawakubo's work through a series of opposing concepts including Fashion/Anti-Fashion, Design/Not Design, High/Low, Self/Other, and Clothes/Not Clothes. Andrew Bolton, curator of the Costume Institute, argued that Kawakubo had redefined contemporary fashion by treating clothing as more than just wearable garments, but as a space for "constant creation, recreation, and hybridity" (Vogue).

Most previous Met Gala themes focused on a historical period of some sort of decorative aesthetic, see the Punk theme in 2013, China theme in 2015, and Technology x Fashion in 2016, to name a few. The Kawakubo theme, though, was centered on an idea. Kawakubo has spent decades challenging traditional ideas of beauty, silhouette, gender, and even what clothing can be defined as. Vogue described her work as existing "in-between", hence the name of the exhibition, established categories, encouraging viewers to see fashion as a form of artistic experimentation rather than simply wearable design.

The unconventional nature of the 2017 Met Gala theme, when compared to previous years, also made it one of the most challenging ones in terms of styling. Many celebrities interpreted the dress code as simply wearing something avant-garde, glossing over the deeper ideas behind Kawakubo's work. Rihanna's SS16 Comme des Garçons look is one of my favorites of the night as she did well in embracing the theme of the in-between, but I cannot give her too much credit as she played it safe because of course a CDG look will adhere to the CDG theme, and she did not exactly challenge herself. The other guests who, in my opinion, missed the mark arrived in conventional gowns that could have fit almost any red carpet. These conventional looks highlighed how difficult it was to translate Kawakubo's philosophy into fashion.

In this next section I will highlight three celebrities and explain how I would have styled them for the 2017 Rei Kawakubo themed Met Gala event.

1. Kim Kardashian (Present)

The natural choice, Kim is the spotlight of every red carpet she steps foot on. While there are valid criticisms of herself and her personal branding, it is undeniable that it is an extraordinary sign of respect to be able to style the face of 2010’s womenswear at the most exclusive party of the year; this is my attempt. It is interesting because I do not believe Kim wore a bad dress whatsoever; I really like her look. Kim’s custom Vivienne Westwood gown was undoubtedly one of the evening's most understated looks. While the clean silhouette and minimalist styling reflected her personal aesthetic, the look did little to engage with the central ideas of Rei Kawakubo's work. She didn’t wear a bad dress, just the wrong one. Kawakubo's designs often reject symmetry, conventional beauty, and the natural shape of the body, while Kardashian's gown emphasized all three, on par with her brand emphasis on biological capital. The result was elegant, but it could have been worn to almost any formal event rather than a celebration of Comme des Garçons.

Rather than celebrating Kim Kardashian's famous silhouette, I would intentionally obscure and reconstruct it. Rei Kawakubo's SS97 Body Meets Dress, Dress Meets Body collection challenges the conventional ideas of beauty that Kim has built her brand around by adding exaggerated volume to unexpected parts of the body. Dressing Kardashian in the above look from this collection would transform and obscure one of fashion's most recognizable figures into a living expression of Kawakubo's philosophy and play with the ambivalence that Rei has embodied her whole career. I want people to see the contradictory look, and question: What does Kim truly represent?

When it comes to styling, I would be very minimal to let Rei’s work be the main focal point. I wouldn’t change her hair; I like the middle part. I also wouldn’t change her jewelry-less style choice, but I would opt for a more natural makeup look and change her shoes for simple black leather pumps.

2. Jeffery “Young Thug” Williams (Not Present)

For the next look, I opted to choose a celebrity who embodies The Art of the In-Between as it pertains to the most pervasive spectrum in all of fashioning identity: Gender. Throughout his musical career, Williams has been no stranger to challenging the rigid ideas of masculinity and femininity. In the early to mid 2010’s, when most other rappers decorated themselves with their shiniest chains and showed off their masculine tattoos on their album covers, Williams went in the complete opposite direction. For his 2016 album titled JEFFERY, Williams shocked much of the highly masculine rap industry by donning a long-ruffled Blue and White dress on the cover without treating it as a novelty or publicity stunt.

For Young Thug, I would choose a Maison Margiela look that deconstructs traditional tailoring while blurring the line between masculine and feminine dress. Young Thug never dresses femininely to imitate women. Instead, he does it to question why garments are assigned a gender at all. This deconstructed SS24 Maison Margiela look continues that conversation by combining elements traditionally associated with both menswear and womenswear into a silhouette that resists clear categorization. I would style the outfit with Young Thug's natural hair, minimal silver jewelry, and the collection's tabi-inspired footwear, once again, like Kim, allowing the focus to remain on the silhouette rather than flashy accessories. Rather than asking whether the outfit is masculine or feminine, my look encourages viewers to question why clothing should be assigned a gender at all, capturing the spirit of Art of the In-Between.

I am also aware this Maison Margiela look debuted after the 2017 Met Gala, but I selected a contemporary runway piece because it demonstrates how the questions Rei Kawakubo raised about gender and identity continue to influence designers today.

3. Lady Gaga (Not Present)

My styling of Kim Kardashian challenged the role of the idealized body and silhouette in fashion. My styling of Young Thug challenged gender roles in traditional and rigid environments. For my final pick, I aim to challenge the purpose of fashion itself. No contemporary celebrity embodies this idea more completely than Lady Gaga. Gaga has never treated clothing as decoration. Like Kawakubo, she has used fashion as performance, identity, and transformation; she understands that clothing can become character.

For this Met Gala, I would style Gaga in a look from Alexander McQueen's Fall/Winter 2009 collection, The Horn of Plenty. Like Rei Kawakubo and Gaga alike, McQueen viewed fashion as a form of artistic expression rather than just adornment, making his work a fitting interpretation of the theme. Throughout her career, Gaga has consistently treated clothing as performance and allowed fashion to become part of the characters she creates rather than simply enhancing her appearance. I would choose the collection's dramatic black sculptural look with its elongated silhouette, layered textures, and theatrical umbrella headpiece, allowing the look to transform Gaga into a living work of art instead of a celebrity on a red carpet. Aligning with McQueen's original vision for the complete look, I would keep the porcelain-white complexion, bold red lips, and dark eye makeup from the runway, along with the sculptural headpiece and black boots. Once again, I would avoid jewelry entirely, allowing the focus to remain on the silhouette and the complete transformation of the body. Altogether, this look challenges the idea that clothing exists only to flatter the wearer, instead presenting fashion as performance, identity, and artistic expression, and there is no better living example of this principle than Lady Gaga.

Lastly, on the Met Gala as a whole. The Gala itself is quite compelling because it gives the public a glimpse inside a highly exclusive world while not being involved in it. Part of why we, as the public sphere, afford it so much attention, year after year, is because the guest list acts as a yearly measurement of cultural relevance. An invitation suggests that someone has become important enough to enter fashion’s inner circle, while an absence can feel like a public demotion. The rise of social media has only intensified this obsession by transforming the Gala from a single red-carpet photoshoot into days of rankings, memes, and arguments over who understood the theme. At this point, the public sphere is experiencing the Met Gala to a higher degree than the celebs who actually attend.

In terms of Anna Wintour’s longtime phone ban, I would encourage her to uphold it. The mystery surrounding the event is necessary. If every conversation and performance were immediately posted and discussed in-depth online, the Gala would lose the distance that makes it feel mythic. I also would not allow regular civilians to simply purchase tickets. Turning the event into an expensive public attraction would make it even more openly about wealth rather than cultural influence.

Here is the change I would make, however, if I were in charge. I would broaden the guest list beyond the same predictable celebrities year-on-year and include more independent designers, stylists, photographers, musicians, and other people actively shaping fashion culture. The Met Gala should remain exclusive enough to feel extraordinary, but that exclusivity should reward imagination and contribution rather than fame alone.

I recognize that exclusivity is the driving force behind the events power, but I aim to rewrite the rules in terms of how that exclusivity is distributed.

The problem is not that the Met Gala has a gate; it is that fame and corporate influence too often determine who receives the key.