I’m a fashionista. At least I’m a fashionista in my head. So the Met Gala was incredibly exciting for me to spectate, and has been for the past couple of years. This year in particular, I found it quite serendipitous that the theme was Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination, since all semester long we’ve been talking about religion. This year, however, I was watching the Met Gala through some particular lenses; fashion sustainability.
There were so many beautifully crafted, gilted, and designed dresses and suits on the carpet that made my inner Miranda Priestly crack a smile, and the adherence to the theme in many of the pieces and their interpretations of it gave the creative in me inspiration. Blake Lively’s dress was definitely my favorite of the night. A stunning blood red gown with a nude bodice, sporting golden embroidery that was no doubt hand stitched to piece. In an interview before the Met Gala opening, Lively raved about her fashion team working on her dress, bragging to Vogue magazine that “they’ve already worked on it for 600 hours, and it’s not done.” This admission gave me pause, because, firstly, 600 hours is a massive amount of time to be working on one gown and, secondly, how many more man hours were put in to work on every piece of fashion that graced the Met Gala carpet? Adding to that, how many resourced were used to piece together these incredible works, not to mention the event itself?
The Met Gala is a staple of the fashion industry, of the celebrity community, and of New York. It’s an institution in it’s own right. But how much of it is sustainable? With its emphasis on gaudiness, glamour, and outstanding works, does finding a sustainable model that focuses less on over consumption and more on responsible exploitation work for the Met Gala? How many designers and celebrities would be willing to forgo the luxurious lifestyle that has so become part and parcel of New York City? It is at this point that Bauman’s ruminations on despair come to mind. These systems have been so solidified that re-engineering them seems a feat to colossal to undertake. Redoing the model of the fashion industry that has made billions from what already previously stands? How many years would that take? And do we have those years available to us to slowly wean ourselves off of profiting from indiscriminate exploitation of resources? In Bauman’s words, perhaps “the best thing we can do might be to let the dominant systems fail.”
As much as we want ecological change, we hold on to the structures that exist. Trying to re-engineer them may be a fool’s errand. I try to not let myself fall into too much despair about the situation, because as Bauman put it, at some point when we’re faced with disease and imminent death we have to plan for it. I just believe that trying to revamp our faulty systems, the ones that got us here in the first place, is holding on to the dashboard of a car speeding to a crowded cross walk hoping the our light is going to change to green. At some point we have to realize the existing structures need to be done away with to make positive change happen.
Honestly, sustainable fashion is fake! The upper class that engages in the “talk” of caring about the environment is nothing but hypocrisy and is a subject that makes me insanely upset. If celebrities and rich people actually cared about anything they pretend to, they wouldn’t have all the unneeded money that they have now! Change the structure, redistribute that unnecessary wealth, I KNOW no one at the MET Gala needs that much money >:(
Did my original comment post? I don’t know but what I said was that the concept of sustainable is fake! If celebrities and rich people actually cared about anything that they advertise they do, they wouldn’t have excess wealth! As people who actually have a voice and the means to change things, they are hypocrites for pretending to care and then going out of their way to wear million dollar outfits. I get so angry about this topic because a celebrity/rich person saying they care about something is completely different than them actually doing something about it. They have the means to change things, why don’t they? They literally just don’t care they just want the label that comes with being famous.
I always love the thought of sustainable exploitation, it’s an oxymoron, isn’t it? Or maybe it’s just that to me the sustainability movement paints itself as uplifting and working in tandem with nature but in reality it is fundamentally exploitative. So maybe not an oxymoron but a redundancy? Regardless, I agree the old systems have to fall but do we have anything to rise in their place that is scalable, even in bioregions? Do we have systems that can support the populations we have and still have enough for everyone? I don’t think so. That’s not to say we couldn’t but I don’t think if capitalism were to fall tomorrow, that we’d have support system for a new era ready to go.
Which gets even more to your point on celebrity. Celebrity is so huge in America and elsewhere, they have the lives so many yearn after. They have the “things” so many people covet. When I went to work on a farm people were obsessed with the idea. They had a secret yearning to do what I was doing or at least know all about it. “I wish I could do something like that!” they’d say. And when I’d point out that it was actually pretty simple to do what I did they quickly found reason, ANY reason why they couldn’t. We have a population addicted to convenience, addicted to oil, addicted to consumption. There isn’t time to go to rehab and ween everyone off slowly and I don’t see the world going cold turkey anytime soon.
I sadly think we have to find a way to grieve the old winters full of snow, the slow bloom of spring, the ways of life we grew up with because they won’t be there when we die. I think the only hope it for some modified vision of a future where we are less addicted.
What systems do you think we could realistically loose?
I found the Met Gala upsetting for another reason. I’ve left the Catholic Church but fashion’s casual – in this case wanton – misuse of religious symbols significant to many people angers me. My friend Otto at Parsons and I have worked together on the fashion religion question and will certainly be responding to the Met show which provided the theme for the gala. Otto thinks fashion IS like the Vatican on all is squalid splendor.
that’s interesting and understandably upsetting. what were some of the religious symbols inappropriately utilized?
I agree with you, Mark. I felt deeply uncomfortable with the appropriation of Catholic iconography for fashion and celebrity. The whole thing seems to ignorantly or indifferently undermine a) people’s traditions & beliefs, and b) the actual power of the Church & its despicable history. The Church’s opulence is not something to emulate.
Also, to address Mina’s point, I don’t think sustainability should be seen as a punishment? I think cultural institutions should take responsibility to be sustainable, ecologically conscience and cautious! Especially something as massive (and in-debt) as the Met. I appreciate that this gala raises money for their costume department, but then why not have ecological sustainability be the theme?? If that’s not cool enough, then fashion should make it cool!!
Mark, will you share your & your colleague’s response to the Met Gala with us ?
“At least I’m a fashionista in my head.” Lol. Me too.
I agree with you that a lot of fashion is unsustainable, but I’ll also argue against you for a moment, just because. The Met Gala is beautiful! And in fact, we need more beauty on this earth. If we need to buy out and cancel a few of the other big (but infinitely more boring) fundraising galas to compensate for the Met Gala’s environmental impact, I’m up for it. As true as all of your concerns are, it worries me that art and culture are always first on the chopping block when it comes to sustainability!
Also, Zendaya’s Joan of Arc look was the best look of the night, everyone else was breathtakingly unoriginal (although Lana made a valiant effort).
love me some Joan of Arc!
Yes, Joan.
But Cardi B?
Make kin!
Honestly, I was LIVING for Zendaya’s take on Joan, because it not only seeks to reimagine fashion, but also to tell a story (however tragic). I saw a lot of the on-the-nose choices to be monotonous and uninspiring because there is so much beauty to be found in Catholic history and Catholic art that we can pay homage to (as much as I’m at odds with the church)
Making sense with mortality requires a deep concentrated effort in understanding all those surround us, whether its other people, the lone flower, or the occasional bird. It’s unmistakably human to ask oneself the hard questions especially regarding transcendental thinking and possibility of deities. Such thought process is normal in the deep consciousness of mortality, especially when it’s exposed at a younger age.
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