Kleider machen Leute.

Oh!
Another different light, then.

OldFrill

The Met Gala is a fundraiser, in 2025 they raised their highest ever amount $31million. It's largely fun, remember that, fun? Trump is banned maybe he's not such fun.

Couldn’t Bezos just give away $31million to charity from his piggy bank? Then we wouldn’t have to boil our eyeballs after viewing some of those photos!

grumppa

Thank you for mentioning Gottfried Keller and Kleider machen Leute, Magenta8: another author I must dip back into.

Yes, grumppa , the irony is in the title of that work by Keller, which in a way suited this thread.
It's humorous, but its also a subtle parody of the foibles and shortcomings of the very wealthy who rise to prominence in a ridiculously superficial industry.

I think ferry23 expressed it very well at 18.19.

SueDonim

OldFrill

The Met Gala is a fundraiser, in 2025 they raised their highest ever amount $31million. It's largely fun, remember that, fun? Trump is banned maybe he's not such fun.

Couldn’t Bezos just give away $31million to charity from his piggy bank? Then we wouldn’t have to boil our eyeballs after viewing some of those photos!

👍 👏 👏

Yes, Allira The funds go back to the Met for the Costume Institute! - because that is their main source of income!

Other departments at the Met such as the Egyptian or European Art departments are funded by general endowment which covers their day to day running costs.

The Costume Institute is unique because it is required to raise all its own operating budget.
It isn't able to rely on the museum for its survival.

For the last few years - since about 2016 or 2017 they have taken some of the money from the Met Ball to start an endowment fund in the hope that eventually they will have a regular source of income. This will make it easier to fund staff (including curators, conservators, and researchers), put on exhibitions and save rare and historical garments for future generations.
​Maintaining the specialized, light-controlled storage required to keep delicate textiles from disintegrating is not cheap. And, (according to V&A archive staff) some garments need regular (manual) turning/moving to prevent crease/stress damage to the fibres. This is quite time consuming.

I don't begrudge the Costume Institute raising money for itself!

Just found this article about where some of the designers took their inspiration. It has the artworks pictured too and includes the red shiny dress on this thread.

www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/fashion/celebrity/a71212877/met-gala-2026-looks-inspired-by-real-artwork/?hl=en-GB

Oh this is a lovely article picture-wise.
Some interesting ones here!

fashionista.com/2026/05/2026-met-gala-art-painting-references?hl=en-GB

🤮🤮🤮

Ooh.. lots of people have gone in search of the original artworks

Here's another!
www.marieclaire.co.uk/fashion/met-gala-2026-best-outfits-art-references?

No more I promise...

This one is more critical regarding interpretation of the theme.

tomandlorenzo.com/2026/05/met-gala-2026-art-pieces-red-carpet-style-fashion/?hl=en-GB

Thanks for the links, NotSpaghetti .
I agree with you, in that I don't begrudge the Costume Institute raising money for itself!

The cause is a worthy enough one, but it is a ridiculous event in terms of the rich and famous showing off and boosting their egos in a less than appropriate way, imo.

Although it does draw attention to their quest for money, I read that in terms of raising a lot, it is a flop, relying on the big bucks of just a few to prop it up.

https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202605/medium-1gozhu-images.jpeg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202605/medium-3xrmue-images-1.jpeg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202605/medium-50n8kh-piper-gilles-winter-olympics-2026-milano-cortino-figure-skating-costumes-ice-van-gogh-starry-night-inspired-outfit-ice-skater-outfits-team-canada-gettyimages-2261133464.jpg

Quite a nice attempt, and one of the better ones, at recreating Starry Night by a model there.

But not a patch on the skater wearing her interpretation at the Milan Winter Olympics.

Why? Because the skater herself has true talent, and expresses her art through a far more skilful genre. True artistry combining flair and real ability, imo.

MissAdventure

Yep, people have buttock implants now.
Does my bum look big in this?
Huge, really massive...
Oh, good!

Big scandals lately about people who aren’t properly qualified performing buttock implants, and too many going disastrously wrong. There was talk of action in Parliament to impose strict rules about who can perform such procedures, but AFAIK nothing has been done. I hope I’m wrong about that.

Well it raised $42 million this year. I don't call that a flop!

Many designers are artists with true talent. Like your skater they have skill and flair.
I wouldn't expect your skater to design and make my jewellery anymore than I'd expect a painter to be an oboe player or an architect to be a gymnast.

Why can't we just allow the Met Ball to be a bit of fun once a year.

I'm not going into competition here to argue further points!

Yes it was fun, in a funny, off the wall weird way, and not to my taste. I didn't say I wanted the event disallowed.

Just to say, the designers, (well most of them, not all!), may deserve credit, but the attention-seeking models don't, imo.

On the subject of bottoms, it seems that a woman's fundamental shape is dictated by fashion.

It used to be fashionable to have a very large, often surgically enhanced, bosom. Now it seems that the emphasis in on the steatopygic look, also surgically enhanced.

In other words bottoms are in and bosoms are out. Or is it bottoms are out and bosoms are in?

NotSpaghetti

Well it raised $42 million this year. I don't call that a flop!

Many designers are artists with true talent. Like your skater they have skill and flair.
I wouldn't expect your skater to design and make my jewellery anymore than I'd expect a painter to be an oboe player or an architect to be a gymnast.

Why can't we just allow the Met Ball to be a bit of fun once a year.

Well it raised $42 million this year. I don't call that a flop!

Which goes back to themselves for their own Costume Institute where most of those daft outfits will probably end up to be gawped at by people like us saying how ludicrous they are 😁

NotSpaghetti

Well it raised $42 million this year. I don't call that a flop!

Many designers are artists with true talent. Like your skater they have skill and flair.
I wouldn't expect your skater to design and make my jewellery anymore than I'd expect a painter to be an oboe player or an architect to be a gymnast.

Why can't we just allow the Met Ball to be a bit of fun once a year.

Many designers are artists with true talent.

No-one is saying they are not.
They are saying that some of the outfits are just plain ridiculous, the models attention-seeking.

Why shouldn't a painter play the oboe?

Lindsey Vonn looked nice and no crutches. What a year.

Magenta8

On the subject of bottoms, it seems that a woman's fundamental shape is dictated by fashion.

It used to be fashionable to have a very large, often surgically enhanced, bosom. Now it seems that the emphasis in on the steatopygic look, also surgically enhanced.

In other words bottoms are in and bosoms are out. Or is it bottoms are out and bosoms are in?

Both are IN. One sticky outy up above, and the other sticky outy below. A sort of S shape from the side. I wonder what men really think. Women might get "looks" but...

NotSpaghetti

Well it raised $42 million this year. I don't call that a flop!

Many designers are artists with true talent. Like your skater they have skill and flair.
I wouldn't expect your skater to design and make my jewellery anymore than I'd expect a painter to be an oboe player or an architect to be a gymnast.

Why can't we just allow the Met Ball to be a bit of fun once a year.

It's probably fair to say that some posters on here don't get the point of it. I thought it was fun and some of the costumes were quite clever in the way they interpreted pieces of art.

I wonder what men really think.
That's the real question Wyllow3!

Coco Chanel: Si une femme est mal habillée, on remarque sa robe, mais si elle est impeccablement vêtue, c'est elle que l'on remarque.
Dress badly and they notice the dress; dress impeccably and they remember the woman.

twaddle

NotSpaghetti

Well it raised $42 million this year. I don't call that a flop!

Many designers are artists with true talent. Like your skater they have skill and flair.
I wouldn't expect your skater to design and make my jewellery anymore than I'd expect a painter to be an oboe player or an architect to be a gymnast.

Why can't we just allow the Met Ball to be a bit of fun once a year.

It's probably fair to say that some posters on here don't get the point of it. I thought it was fun and some of the costumes were quite clever in the way they interpreted pieces of art.

Can you explain? You obviously mean me.

They don't care if they look ridiculous. It gets them the publicity they crave.

MartavTaurus

😆
So obscene, GN aren't printing them?!
They appeared fine when I selected preview!

Nothing obscene about them just not to your nor my taste