The MET Gala: Rei's Big Night!

The MET Gala has come, gone and stunned and now we shall admire some of the fabulous looks that graced the cream and blue carpet. The museum’s exhibit and by extension the Gala honored renowned designer Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons. Kawakubo is known for pushing boundaries and breaking traditional design rules by creating deconstructed, androgynous, aggressive or asymmetrical looks with unfinished seams and loose flaps. If one can even describe her creations, Avant-garde comes the closest and therefore the theme for evening. As usual, some of our favorite fashionistas took the theme to heart, while some sprinkled in a reference or two to Kawakubo. Then there were the ladies and gentlemen who just wore typical red carpet attire with gorgeous head-to-toe looks.

On theme was Rhianna, Tracee Ellis Ross, Helen Lasichanh and Caroline Kennedy all strutting down the carpet in a Comme des Garçons design. Props to Solange and Cynthia Erivo in Thom Browne, Katy Perry in Maison Margiela Artisanal, Adwoa Aboah in Connor Ives and Priyanka Chopra in custom Ralph Lauren for sticking the landing.

With such a diverse group of a few hundred attendees it was no surprise to see a variety of trends for the evening. Red, the unofficial color of Comme des Garçons, was the color of the night with the aforementioned Katy Perry and Helen Lasichanh sporting the hue, along with Ashley Graham, Thandie Newton, Emma Roberts, Luka Sabbat, Rami Malek, Rita Ora and Georgina Chapman, Amy Fine, Rose Byrne, Joan Smalls and Doutzen Kroes. The other trends of the evening included florals, voluminous looks, ruffles, feathers, women sporting pants, ball gowns, pastels, cut-outs, thigh-high slits and ladies rocking the one shoulder dress.

If you are asking yourself who is Rei Kawakubo, we’ve got you covered. She is a Japanese designer who founded Comme des Garçons in 1969 as a sportswear label sold in boutique shops. By 1980 the brand had 150 franchised shops throughout Japan. The next year she brought her designs to the West showing at Paris Fashion Week. But it wasn’t until 1982 when she really caught notice from the fashion establishment. Over the past 30 years Kawakubo has developed a vast and loyal fan base and is consistently on ‘most influential designer’ lists. She challenges the definitions of beauty and gender and has answered the question, is fashion art. Rei Kawakubo and legendary designer Yves Saint Laurent are the only two living designers to be honored with the exhibit at the MET.