You are about to embark on a journey through JG Ballard’s ‘The Garden of Time’ in real-life embodiments of the theme on the red carpet steps. In THE fashion event of the year, allow these pages to speak on the inner workings of the event, in a whirlwind of paparazzi, performances and party dresses in New York City and relive the joy of the Met Gala.

 

This year in particular, I found myself at a Met Gala watch party, staying awake until 3am (GMT) to catch a glimpse of the looks in real-time - despite the fact the pictures would be published the very next morning. The livestream played on the television, while the groupchat flooded with real-time, live footage of celebrities exiting their hotels for their cabs to the venue. We expressed our opinions on the looks, disappointment at some, and debated their messages and relevance to the theme - which held the utmost importance. The Met Gala has the power to unite those that view fashion casually, with those who worship it.

 

After looking at ‘Fashion as Entertainment: The Impact of Digitalisation on the Evolution of Fashion Events’, key themes included: conspicuous consumption, sexist fashion portrayals and fashion’s desire for theatre. Conspicuous consumption relates to the ideology of dress on the red carpet being exercised as a tool to flaunt wealth and social standing, especially when attendees wear items only once (Kawamura, 2018). Additionally, novelty and impracticality of dress (particularly female dress) plays a part in establishing the superior pecuniary class (Veblen, 1899). Fashion's desire for theatre clarifies the performance ritual is conducted for financial gain (Stark, 2018). 

 

Sexist fashion portrayals connote women as the submissive sex in all known societies, which can be traced back to barbarian society where women were viewed as trophies. The anticipation for womenswear over menswear in the traditional fashion system can be determined by the perception of a woman existing to be adorned, in order to heighten the male’s social standing through their economic dependence (Veblen, 1899). For this reason, fashion (and subsequently feminine leisure activities like reading magazines) have been branded as a strictly frivolous female activity; which diminishes the craft of its cultural and political significance (Turnbull, 2018). 

 

Significant findings showed performance theatre in the exhibition of clothes creates cross-platform marketing to sell other novelty products to the bourgeoisie: including cosmetics and fragrances (Stark, 2018). After the use of Pandora dolls in the Royal Courts, women now play this part in dressing for media consumption on the red carpet as a form of entertainment - solidifying society's stars (Devaney, n.d.). The movement of women using fashion to explore social issues must be done thoughtfully in order to avoid contradictory claims. Costumes or ‘method dressing’ is a novelty tactic used year by year to ensure relevant creative looks are overturned as opposed to the recycling of black tie dress. Due to the historic economic dependence of women on men, and the use of women’s adornments to signify a man’s wealth, the red carpet has since become a space to amplify female voices (Veblen, 1899).

 

The digitalisation of media means timeliness is a key factor for keeping mass-audiences engaged across platforms, especially with the already temporary nature of fashion weeks. The saturated digital landscape can lead to audiences feeling overwhelmed; therefore, audiences look for a distillation of fashion moments in print to prolong their lifespan, as an item to cherish and a way to be involved in the brand universe - which is how this book was born. 

 

While the event may be reduced to a female form of entertainment, the Met Gala is a cultural mass-media event in the Western world for the exhibition of clothing. The event is the ultimate symbol of status and conspicuous consumption to establish the annual elites of entertainment. 

 

This endeavour links to my personal intended and aspirational career path as I am interested in working in the publication industry, specifically a magazine such as Vogue - the host of the Met Gala. This experience has helped me learn more about the Vogue tone-of-voice in the written word, the psychology of fashion in relation to the event and hear from a number of contributors opinions on the event - among a plethora of other subjects. 

 

As the author, I have been exposed to various forms of writing, collaboration and facets of the publication industry through my degree at Condé Nast College of Fashion & Design - where I minored in Fashion Journalism and Magazine Publishing & Media Business. I have had first-hand experience interning at Grazia UK, Emily Blair Media and REFY, therefore I understand the inner workings of a magazine but also how this works in conjunction with PR. My experience in content creation for brands such as Cosmopolitan Middle East means I am able to curate content to industry-standard on platforms like InDesign and PhotoShop. Additionally, my experience as a Contact Tracer for the NHS means I am able to converse confidently with my interview subjects. 

 

This body of work for the second part of my dissertation truly highlights my ability as a fashion writer; where I was involved in writing 1 foreword, 1 exhibition overview, 2 features, a styling segment, 2 written profiles, 20+ outfit descriptors, 8 news pieces written in 45 minutes each to adhere to industry-standard practises and more. All alongside curating other creative segments. 

 

Enjoy!

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Please note: Images are in CMYK for printing purposes