As the Met Gala approaches, the globally anticipated event has unveiled its annual theme and corresponding fashion exhibit, igniting the usual fervor and speculation that precedes this high-fashion occasion. Regarded as the Super Bowl of the fashion world, the Met Gala offers a stage where art and fashion intersect, presenting designs that are as expressive as they are exquisite. This event showcases innovative fashion and is a significant fundraiser for The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute in New York City.
As the world anticipates the Met Gala 2024 on the first Monday in May, fans of the event find themselves intrigued by the possibilities. This year's gala at The Metropolitan Museum of Art adopts a theme that can also be seen on New York’s Broadway stages, highlighting fashion's “sleeping beauties” as they re-emerge into a fresh era of design and aesthetics.
__________
The 2024 Costume Institute exhibition, titled "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion," and the corresponding Met Gala dress code “The Garden of Time” plan to explore the diverse aspects of fashion history, its cyclical nature, and future implications through approximately 250 rare pieces drawn from the Costume Institute's permanent collection. This year’s Met Gala will be hosted by Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez, Bad Bunny, Chris Hemsworth, and Anna Wintour.
Just as the Met Gala takes classic looks from years past and reinvents them, Broadway consistently reimagines historical fashion trends, putting a modern lens on the past. We can almost feel the rustle of silk and velvet, overlaid with the whispers of old tales retold in vibrant stitches and threads on exceptional costumes.
__________
Fashion and Broadway
Look around, and you'll notice fashion dancing in a circle; trends rise, fall, and repeat, bringing styles that were once overlooked back into popularity.
There's no better place to see fashion revive itself than on Broadway's stages, where threads from every era come together in intricate ensembles, reflecting the essence of each story and character.
With shows set across history, Broadway costumers are old hands at reawakening designs. From The Cher Show’s celebration of the Goddess of Pop’s evolving fashion to SIX’s melding of Tudor fashion with modern fabrics and finishes and the upcoming The Great Gatsby that will transport us back to the fashion of the 1920s, it's clear how previous trends re-emerge, refreshed and ready to inspire anew on the world's stage.
__________
Let's turn to 2018 when The Cher Show made its Broadway debut—a high-voltage performance packed with music and splendid costumes. The extraordinary life and career of Cherilyn Sarkisian LaPierre Bono Allman, better known as Cher, was depicted through various phases of her life: the dreamer, the rising star, the television sensation, the Oscar-winner, and the woman looking for love, revealing all aspects of the legendary figure's life.
The success of The Cher Show was closely tied to its impressive costume designs. Vogue declared it an 'incredible story of Cher's meteoric rise to fame,' offering an entirely fresh take on her show-stopping wardrobe that earned Cher the title of "the ruler of outré reinvention.”
Bob Mackie, Cher's dedicated designer, contributed significantly to the visual spectacle of the show with a range of fabrics from glittering sequins to rich satin. Mackie's talent for theatrical costume designs helped him to reinvent avant-garde fashion with Cher, gaining recognition and awards for his work, including the 2019 TonyⓇ Award for Best Costume Design and the 2019 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costume Design for a Musical. Cher’s style under Mackie was innovative and attracted attention. His designs' use of velvet, metallic finishes, and intricate details highlighted Cher's position as a fashion icon.
Cher prefers unique silhouettes, from the liberated bell bottoms of the sixties to daring high-thigh-slit gowns celebrating feminine boldness—every style professes her maverick spirit.
The Cher Show illustrates Broadway's ability to revisit fashion trends, showing their influence on current styles. Celebrities like Beyoncé and Taylor Swift incorporate sparkling, futuristic costume designs in their performances, taking inspiration from the diva who has walked the walk prior.
Cher's style aligns well with the theme of this year's Gala: a celebration of fashion's evolution, the incorporation of fresh perspectives, and carrying this legacy forward.
Enjoy this throwback to Cher’s epic performance at the camp-themed Met Gala.
__________
For Broadway’s next walk down the runway, we turn to pop sensation SIX. Created by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, recent Cambridge University graduates, this musical presents a modern interpretation of the lives of Henry XII's six wives, recast as pop divas.
The show puts a fresh spin on history, with the characters' intriguing costumes taking center stage. Breaking free from their historical contexts, the creators dress their new queens in contemporary outfits that subtly reflect their historical stories. Consider Anne Boleyn, depicted in a short green dress adorned with leather and studs, hinting at her scandalous notoriety, or Catherine of Aragon, dressed in gold and black with a spiked crown on her head, hinting at her nickname “The Spanish Princess.”
Performed eight times a week at the Lena Horne Theatre, SIX exhibits fashion's seamless integration and adaptability by merging Tudor-era details with the energy of today's pop divas and a bit of Jean-Paul Gaultier, creating an exciting link between past and present trends. It portrays what fashion brings to the table—each choice of fabric and silhouette tells the story as well as the songs.
This revamp of historic styles aligns with the "Sleeping Beauties" of the Met Gala. SIX showcases how traditional elements can be reincorporated into modern fashion in unexpected ways; envision Tudor puff sleeves paired with a high-hemmed dress and headpieces reminiscent of both 15th to 17th-century paintings and modern pop-artist looks like Katy Perry or Madonna. The musical's respectful nod to the past preserves history and brings it to life in a tangible way. Thus, fashion continues its journey, landing before us as the six full-of-vigor queens belting their fractured fairy tales to catchy pop tunes.
Dive deeper into the topic of royalty at the Met Gala and discover what modern royals wore to the Gala over the years.
__________
Jazz music, speakeasies, lavish parties, and clandestine romance are the elements of the much-anticipated Broadway adaptation of The Great Gatsby. Debuting this spring at the Broadway Theatre, the show reimagines the tragic love story.
The production's costumes lie in the hands of Linda Cho, a TonyⓇ Award-winning costume designer known for her creative, theatrical designs. Cho, acclaimed for her costume work on Broadway’s A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder and Anastasia, is expected to recreate the sprightly spirit of the Roaring Twenties with her unique eye.
Set in the affluent Jazz Age, The Great Gatsby is a canvas for imagination—fancy flapper dresses, feathered headbands, cloche hats, and sharp suits—that reflect fashion trends from a century ago. With Cho's knack for merging original period pieces and modern elements, we might see these 'sleeping beauties' awakened from their nap, donning a refreshing appeal reflecting today’s aesthetics.
Echoing the Met Gala's 2024 theme, The Great Gatsby offers an opportunity to reimagine 1920s trends in a way that parallels the current resurgence of vintage aesthetics. As today’s trendsetters pull from the past, stylish suits, sleek silhouettes, and the relaxed 'garçonne look' of the 1920s are making a comeback. Similarly, the 1930s, recognized for its enduring style with high-waist pants, defined shoulder pads, and smooth cuts, seem to have found a place in today's wardrobes, with fashion enthusiasts showcasing slick outfits based on these styles on their social media feeds.
Additionally, the growing popularity of vintage shopping indicates a shift in clothing choices as more young people explore thrift stores and their grandparents’ attics for less common, more nostalgic pieces. This reflects a move towards sustainable fashion and a desire to connect with the fashion side of history and learn more about our collective past.
Take a moment to return to the Met Gala 2022 through Glamour’s selection of gorgeous gowns that were ‘giving The Great Gatsby.’
Storytelling Through Fashion
Both the Met Gala and Broadway tell stories via fashion. Each Broadway show develops partly through the costumes worn by its characters, reflecting the period in which the story is set or projecting a different time altogether as a metaphorical tool. Fashion is a powerful instrument that tells us about someone’s previous life, where they come from, their mood, and intentions.
Broadway constantly reinvents and reintroduces fashion through its lineup of productions and works with some of the best theatrical designers, offering us a glimpse into past, present, and future trends within its creations. While operating in different spheres, both Broadway and the Met Gala understand what fashion is truly about - telling a story.