a woman wearing a blue dress© Guo Pei Spring/Summer 2017. Getty Images.a person wearing a wedding dress© Jean Paul Gaultier Spring/Summer 2007. Getty Images. The first Monday of every May, there’s a torrent of high-voltage red-carpet glamour flowing up and down the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. The annual Costume Institute Gala is just days away, and this year’s event is sure to be one for the fashion history books. Co-chaired by Amal Clooney, Donatella Versace, and the unofficial — but kind of official — Met Gala red-carpet queen Rihanna, this year marks the 70th anniversary of fashion’s biggest fund-raising event. The theme for the 2018 iteration of the Met Gala is “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination,” and it has many rumbling that it’s the most controversial yet.

Coming at a thorny time when religion is globally politicized, ongoing internal disputes within the Catholic Church persist, and we're witnessing a reimagining of the Vatican at the helm of Pope Francis as a more humbling environment; it’s a pretty risky move. Yet it is one that the Met is willing to bank on and hoping will be a colossal success in the vein of past exhibitions such as "China: Through the Looking Glass"; "Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty"; "Punk: Chaos to Couture"; and last year’s Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons." “Fashion and religion have long been intertwined, mutually inspiring and informing one another,” says head curator Andrew Bolton. “Although this relationship has been complex and sometimes contested, it has produced some of the most inventive and innovative creations in the history of fashion.”

Stretching across three galleries as well as the Met Cloisters, “Fashion and the Catholic Imagination” will focus on religious visuals and their influence in fashion. The exhibition features 50 pieces from the Sistine Chapel sacristy — many of which have never been seen outside the Vatican — including papal robes, rings, tiaras, and other accessories from the 18th to the early 21st centuries and multiple works from the Met’s own collection of religious and medieval art. Furthermore, more than 150 ensembles, primarily womenswear, from design houses like Chanel, Balenciaga, Dolce & Gabbana, and most appropriately, Versace, will provide an interpretative context for fashion’s tryst with Catholicism. The gist: Many garments will be juxtaposed with their inspirations, i.e., connecting the dots between what’s sacred and profane.

“We know it could be controversial for right wing or conservative Catholics and for liberal Catholics," Bolton told The New York Times last fall. Yet the exhibition will focus “on a shared hypothesis about what we call the Catholic imagination and the way it has engaged artists and designers and shaped their approach to creativity, as opposed to any kind of theology or sociology,” Bolton continued. Fittingly, many designers in the exhibition, such as Elsa Schiaparelli, Riccardo Tisci, Cristobel Balenciaga, and countless others were raised Catholic, so artistic expression and the connection between fashion and religious visuals runs deep for many involved.

In addition to this year’s theme, the red carpet and event could be a polemic fest. In the past, guests like Katy Perry and Madonna have been criticized for their “insensitive” wares, while some celebs have shown up scantily clad and in barely there ensembles. Last year, Kylie Jenner broke the Met Gala’s ‘no selfie’ policy by posting the now iconic star-studded bathroom pic to her Instagram. Another big no-no: There’s no smoking inside the museum. But the big question is who will wear what? And how will celebrities, many popular for careers promoting secular music, interpret a theme inspired by Catholicism?

Fashion’s Oscar night takes place on May 7, 2018, and Vogue will be livestreaming the red carpet on their Twitter and Instagram.

Related: 10 Things You Should Know About The Met Gala [Provided by Teen Vogue]

10 Things You Should Know About The Met Gala
Teen Vogue
See more videos
What to watch next
UP NEXT
UP NEXT

Found the story interesting?

Like us on Facebook to see similar stories


  • Facebook app for Windows 10
  • Connect with friends faster than ever with the new Facebook app.
  • Get the app

Send MSN Feedback

We appreciate your input!

Please give an overall site rating: