Inside the Madonna Material Girl Costume Exhibit in Los Angeles

Retrospective of Madonna’s Costumes at Macy’s Los Angeles

A retrospective of Madonna’s costumes was on display in Los Angeles last night at Macy’s Century City as a promotional “tie-in” to the Macy’s Material Girl Juniors fashion line. For two brief hours, Madonna fans and celebrities were treated to the exhibit of Madonna’s stage costumes.  Highlights of the exhibit included  the Jean Paul Gaultier cone bra corsets from her Blond Ambition Tour, her Re-Invention Tour ensemble by Christian Lacroix, her “Like A Virgin” wedding dress she wore to the MTV VMA’s in 1984, the Bob Mackie evening gown she wore to the 1991 Oscars as Michael Jackson’s guest, the black leather motorcycle jacket by Montgomery Ward and t-shirt from her “Papa Don’t Preach” video and  her “Boy Toy” jacket designed by Vivienne Westwood.  This is pop fashion kitsch at its finest.    Celeb guests like Vanessa Hudgens and Ireland Baldwin were on hand to talk about how amazing Madonna is.

Madonna Dress with Boy Toy Belt

As a technique for getting fans into the Macy’s store, this exhibit was a success. But, was the exhibit a success in terms of helping Macy’s sell the Material Girl collection? I am not so sure. As the old adage goes, you can’t put lipstick on a pig. No amount of celeb window dressing can make the Material Girl collection more than what it is: trendy stuff you can buy cheaper at Forever21.    The Macy’s lace dress with bustier comes closest to replicating one of Madonna’s actual stage costumes (the Like a Virgin dress.) That dress is priced at $44.00

I simply don’t think the Material Girl collection offers value for price.  There are many items and designers at Macy’s that offer better looking and betting priced fashions.  However, if you love everything Madonna does, then you will want to check out Material Girl and decide for yourself.