Fashion
Met Gala 2017: H&M Custom Couture for ‘Art of the In-Between’
Its been called the Oscars of the East Coast, and every year the Met Gala in New York shows off an interesting red carpet display of couture, art and high-street fashion. There’s everything from Prada to custom high-street brands H&M and Topshop. This year, H&M produced a variety of custom gowns that were inspired by the current Costume Institute exhibition Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: ‘Art of the In-Between.’
Sasha Lane, Stella Maxwell, Jourdan Dunn, Ashley Graham in H&M at the Met Gala 2017.
The stunning and somewhat quirky designs from the H&M team offered one-of-a-kind looks that explored many of Kawakubo’s recurring themes. These included deconstruction, subverted tradition and asymmetry, mixed with the charm of bows, flowers and polka dots, with each look made especially for this exclusive evening of fashion. Some of you will remember that H&M collaborated with Comme des Garçons for its successful 2008 H&M designer collection.
“It has been our honor at H&M to create these looks inspired by Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons, one of fashion’s most important and influential designers. Each H&M look has been entirely custom-made, with both Kawakubo’s creative world and the style of our guests in mind,” said Pernilla Wohlfahrt, H&M’s Head of Design and Creative Director.
Ashley Graham in bespoke H&M corset dress with red organza ruffled skirt at the Met Gala 2017.
“It’s been such a wonderful experience with H&M for my first Met Gala. I have loved collaborating with them every step of the way and I can’t wait to show off my dress. It’s everything I could have ever dreamed of!” said Ashley Graham.
Model Ashley Graham wore a corset dress influenced by Kawakubo’s interest in revealing the inner workings of garments. An off-white corset was subtly deconstructed, while a long red silk skirt was boned and fastened by hook-and-eyes, both decorated with exuberant ruffles of dark red silk organza.
Jourdan Dunn in H&M at the Met Gala 2017.
Model Jourdan Dunn wore a body-skimming dress that played with the theme of deconstructing and subverting traditional garments. A top of off-white silk taffeta shirting appeared as if falling off a calico bodice, its skirt of deconstructed navy pinstripe suiting that was cut asymmetrically and into bows.
Sasha Lane in a sheer net-like structured dress with polka dots from H&M.
Actress Sasha Lane wore a sheer net-like structured dress embellished with various sizes of polka dots, one of Kawakubo’s key motifs. The dress was held by a sheer, boned upper body with black Swarovski crystals, the playful dots in tactile materials such as raffia and velvet.
Stella Maxwell in a sheer organic H&M silk chiffon dress covered in strands of pearls with a very 1920’s flapper style of beads and fringe.
Model Stella Maxwell wore a sheer organic silk chiffon dress covered in strands of pearls. Beginning as a necklace that draped the open back, the pearls crossed the chest and formed the lines of a crinoline into the dress, before falling free to play around the body.
If you are loving these fashions, and are a sample size, love for them on sale soon at a Charity Auction. H&M’s custom red carpet looks will be auctioned to benefit Girl Up, a campaign of the United Nations Foundation that empowers girls to transform the world. The auction will be held on Charitybuzz, an online platform for charitable auctions from Tuesday, May 2nd to Friday, May 12th at 2PM EST.
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