色吧亚洲

In anticipation of tonight鈥檚 Met Gala, CU 色吧亚洲鈥檚 Markas Henry reflects on the sometimes vague or even non-existent line between clothing and show

No less an authority than Coco Chanel said, "Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street. Fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening."

However, the equally stylish Anna Wintour later observed, 鈥淵ou either know fashion or you don鈥檛.鈥�

As longtime editor of U.S. Vogue, Wintour clearly knows fashion. And as host of tonight鈥檚 Met Gala, Wintour will preside over what is arguably the biggest fashion event of the year. Celebrities and fashion insiders will converge on the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City for the opening of the Costume Institute鈥檚 exhibit and dressed to the theme of

鈥淚n a way, it鈥檚 a theme party,鈥� says Markas Henry, a University of Colorado 色吧亚洲 associate professor of theatre who teaches a course called Fashion, Society and D茅cor, as well as courses in costume design. 鈥淓verything is so heightened and so exaggerated.鈥�

For fans watching the Met Gala red carpet arrivals, the one-of-a-kind custom or haute couture creations may beg the question: But is it fashion or is it costume? At the heights and extremes of raiment seen at the Met Gala, it鈥檚 often both, Henry says.

Creating characters

The Met Gala is held the first Monday in May in support of the , which grew from the Museum of Costume Art, a library dedicated to the art of theatrical costumes. So, 鈥渋t makes sense to think about costume in terms of the Met Gala,鈥� Henry says, adding that a foundational principle of costume is storytelling.

鈥淲e鈥檙e creating characters,鈥� he explains. 鈥淐ostume is created for a particular character on a particular actor, and costume design is a collective vision. It starts of with a designer鈥檚 vision and the actor鈥檚, then the director鈥檚. They鈥檙e thinking about the character they鈥檙e creating and it鈥檚 not just one person鈥檚 vision; it鈥檚 collectively telling that character鈥檚 story or telling a story through that character.鈥�

Any line between fashion and costume may become blurry because fashion also can tell a story, Henry says, and because costume can mean a style of dress specific to a culture, era, country or people. In the popular imagination, however, costumes also are associated with donning a character or identity鈥攚hether on the stage or even as a Halloween costume.

鈥淎 distinction between fashion and costume is that fashion isn鈥檛 necessarily created for a specific character,鈥� Henry says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the fashion designer鈥檚 vision and they may have an idea of who they鈥檙e designing for, but it鈥檚 rarely telling the story of a specific person. Even if they have a person in mind, it鈥檚 more the idea of them, it鈥檚 characteristics rather than an actual person.

鈥淭he old joke is that fashion is 鈥榦ne size fits none,鈥� but really, mass-market fashion is created for a populace. As you ascend into the realm of haute couture, that鈥檚 where you get more into creating a work of art鈥攖his idea of creating a garment that鈥檚 going to be worn once, definitely more form than function.鈥�

鈥榃here fashion and theater coalesce鈥�

Fashion and costume also overlap in the realm of theater, Henry says, especially in runway shows during fashion weeks 鈥渨here designers are presenting their season and it鈥檚 total theater. It鈥檚 light and sound and atmospherics, it may be extreme make-up and extreme hair. And you may see a handful of those looks from the runway on red carpets, but in general this is not for everyday wear. This is where you see the outer limits of a fashion designer鈥檚 vision, but it鈥檚 not what you鈥檙e actually going to see in a store.鈥�

The Met Gala is fascinating because it might also be considered a form of theater: 鈥淚t鈥檚 heightened, it鈥檚 extraordinary and not ordinary, it steps outside the everyday world and creates this fantastical world focused around a theme,鈥� Henry explains, citing the 2019 Met Gala theme 鈥淐amp: Notes on Fashion鈥� as a fascinating example of the confluence of fashion, costume and theater.

鈥淎n example is the four looks Brandon Maxwell designed for Lady Gaga that year,鈥� Henry says. 鈥淚t was the perfect fusion of the Met Gala with couture fashion with showmanship and outside-the-box presentation.

鈥淚 think that鈥檚 really where any line between fashion and costume gets blurry. Another example is the meat dress (Lady Gaga wore to the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards). That is now fashion, but when she wore it, you鈥檙e looking at it going, 鈥楾hat鈥檚 a costume.鈥� It was an outrageous garment made, essentially, for a character.鈥�

The Met Gala also prompts interesting discussion in class about the roles of stylist, designer and costumer, Henry says. 鈥淭he Met Gala is styling, because it emphasizes fashion and you style fashion, versus costume design where every single aspect of appearance is a factor, versus 鈥業 need to come in and make these people look good,鈥� which is a costumer. One is not more important than the other鈥攖hey鈥檙e just different jobs.

鈥淭he Met Gala is the perfect fusion of all these things, styling and costuming and costume design. Any time it鈥檚 haute couture, any time it鈥檚 one-off constructions, then it really is falling into the world of costume design, because it鈥檚 not something that鈥檚 going to be mass produced. You鈥檙e not going to walk into Saks or Bergdorf and find that gown. So, I think that鈥檚 why the Met Gala is so interesting, because it really is where fashion and theater coalesce.鈥�

Top image: Billy Porter poses at the 2019 Met Gala. (Photo: Angela Weiss/Getty Images)

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