This year’s Metropolitan Museum of Art’s annual Costume Institute Gala was titled “Model As Muse”, where the exhibition featured designers and models with influence on the fashion world. Sadly I didn’t feel the model vibe as much as the celebrity vibe. There was a lot of gossip and news behind this event. It was co-chaired by Marc Jacobs and Anna Wintour, but apparently they had trouble securing tables from the major fashion houses. The recession was probably the main factor there, as everyone is cutting costs these days. There were many celebrities in attendance, many of which I thought had no reason to be there (Jessica Szhor, Emma Roberts, Katy Perry). However, there were many supermodels absent: Naomi Campbell, Stephanie Seymour, Christy Turlington, as well as designers Karl Lagerfeld and Azzedine Alaia (who wasn’t invited by the way!) to name a few..
Overall, I felt the dress choices were slightly boring and the whole event didn’t excite me as much as it should have. I was looking forward to the event, since I am a big proponent of the “Bring Back The Models” movement (read more here). But alas, this event did nothing for me. I didn’t want to cover the event because I knew I was going to give bad ratings to the majority. However, I thought that my opinion is my opinion, and not necessarily shared by the whole world, so maybe you won’t agree with me. I like that there was a lot of glitter, sequins and shine. That’s mostly it. There were hundreds of photos to choose from, but I thought I’d focus more on the models, since this event is after all, about them.
So for now, here’s my humble red carpet rating. Tell me what you think in the comments.
Agyness Deyn and Twiggy in Burberry Prorsum – They both look like they’re in costume. Agy looks like Marilyn Monroe, but in a sort of scary way. I think her dress is brilliant nevertheless.
Alek Wek – I adored this look. The dress and the color and Alek’s makeup. Perfectly styled with the feathered bag.
Ali Stephens in Narciso Rodriguez – Not too bad overall, but I don’t like how it falls over her hips.
Amber Valletta in vintage James Galanos – All in all, a nice look. I would have added a red lipstick.
Anja Rubik in Balmain – Looks fab on her.
Anna Jagodzinska in Altuzarra – The dress: Beautiful color, beautiful style. The shoes don’t match the dress, and her hair could have used a little more volume.
Anna Wintour in Chanel Haute Couture – Is it just me or is Anna looking very old these days? Hard work and all that travel must have taken its toll.
Anne Hathaway in Marc Jacobs – Although her hair isn’t my cup of tea, her makeup is sultry and glamorous. Her dress is also flattering against her creamy white skin.
Anne Vyalitsyna in Peter Som – So pretty! The necklace gives it an edge.
Arlenis Sosa in Alberta Ferretti – I think she looks better on the runway where she’s styled better. Arlenis could have done much better than this.
Ashley Olsen in The Row – I love this look. Though I’m not obsessed with her or her twin, I prefer Ashley’s look more. It looks like she’s wearing a caftan, and I adore her new hairdo. She looks different from everyone else, and in a good way.
Bee Shaffer in Nina Ricci – Very nice. Elegant, classic and not too trendy.
Blake Lively in Versace – I thought Blake looked sensational. She was glowing, her hair was immaculate and her makeup so fresh. I’m not loving the style of her dress but the shade looks good against her skin.
Brooke Shields in Calvin Klein – I like Brooke Shields. I think she’s natural and seems like she’s a normal person. But I wonder what happened to her body. It seems like she’s grown a lot of muscle and therefore looks bigger in a masculine way. I can’t quite put my finger on it.
Carmen Kass in Michael Kors – It doesn’t look like she put much effort into this look, but she still looks simple and chic.
Carolina Herrera in her own design – I noticed she likes to wear shirts, and this dress also looks like a shirt from the top.
Caroline Trentini in John Galliano – I am really into the caftan look at the moment, since I seem to be drooling over every caftan-like dress. This one is amazing.
Catherine McNeil in Roland Mouret – Adorable dress, and gorgeous shoes.
Ciara in Emilio Pucci – What can I say.. Two tone dresses aren’t always succesful. This one is borderline. In the bad border of course.
Cindy Crawford in Versace – I remember a time when I thought Cindy Crawford was so beautiful she could have ruled the world. She’s still so beautiful she could rule the world!
Claire Danes in Armani Prive – The upper part of her dress is perfect, and so is her hair and makeup. I didn’t like the beading on the bottom part, as it makes the dress rectangular and bottom heavy.
Claudia Schiffer in Versace Atelier – Messy hair, intricately detailed dress.
Coco Rocha in Isaac Mizrahi – A copper toned statue is what I would call Coco.
Daria Werbowy in Balmain – Not so original, but not so bad either.
Diane Kruger in Chanel Haute Couture – The white flowers make it look cute and girly. The length of the dress is perfect for this design, otherwise the flowers would have been too much on a long dress.
Donna Karan in her own design – This is an awesome dress. I would buy it for myself if I could. The detail on the hip is very nice, and the dress hugs her perfectly.
Doutzen Kroes in 3.1 Philip Lim – Isn’t she a beauty? I LOVE her face.
Edita Vilkeviciute, in Chanel Haute Couture jacket and Chanel skirt – It’s not my cup of tea, but overall, she looks nice.
Elizabeth Hurley in Elie Saab Couture – One of my favorite dresses. It’s a beautiful confection of a creamy pink color, delicate flowers, and a big train. I just wish Elizabeth would change her hairdo for once in her life.
Emmy Rossum in Carolina Herrera – I don’t like this. The color is too old and serious for her. And the design is not too flattering either.
Eva Herzigova in Dolce & Gabbana – I’ve seen a lot of Dolce’s corset dresses this year, and Eva is wearing it well.
Eva Longoria and Diane von Furstenberg in Diane’s design – Eva looks very plain and not interesting like her usual red carpet choices. Diane looks nice as usual.
Eva Mendes in Calvin Klein – It’s very plain. Very bland. I do like her hairdo. Classic.
Flavia De Oliveira in Juan Carlos Obando – I really like this dress. It’s beautiful and simple. Her hair and makeup also suits this dress.
Chanel Iman in Zac Posen – It’s a pretty dress, playful and sexy at the same time and I like that the leopard print is subtle.
Giselle Bundchen in Versace – The dress is perfect on her. The sequin detail and the color is fab, but I wish she didn’t match the shoes to the dress. Silver or nude stilettos would have been a better option. She could have done something better to her hair as well.
Heidi Klum in J. Mendel – She’s pregnant. She looks gorgeous. And I shall cry tears of envy. Life is not fair.
Helena Christensen in Zac Posen – I thought it was nice until I realized that her dress says ‘Vogue’. Which just ruins it for me. I don’t like slogans on formal wear.
Hilary Rhoda in Thakoon – She also chose something with a sparkle to it. It was the theme of the night perhaps!
Hilary Swank in Calvin Klein – Her dress looks like it’s made of red onion skin. I’m not hating it, but it doesn’t look too good.
Iman in Donna Karan – This is one of my favorite dresses of the night. It looked great on Iman’s body, and the design was cut to perfection.
Iris Strubegger in Givenchy Haute Couture – Nothing out of the ordinary, it’s alright.
Isabeli Fontana in Calvin Klein – Beautiful color. I don’t like the fact that the shoes match the dress, but I’ll let it go.
Ivanka Trump in Brian Reyes – I like it a lot.
January Jones in Michael Kors – Ooh I love you January! You look so disco, so mod, so Edie Sedgwick!
Jessica Alba in Jason Wu – She could have lost the black tights and looked much better. Also, her makeup looks cakey.
Jessica Biel in Versace Atelier – I thought Jessica looked wonderful in this dress. In some photos, she looked overly tanned, but in this she looks great. I really like the detail on the bodice as well as the color of the dress.
Jessica Stam in Rodarte – I like how she (maybe unintentionally) followed a specific color palette from head to toe. She looks beautiful.
Karen Elson in Chanel – It looks like she’s wearing a black and white clown costume. Enough said.
Karolina Kurkova in Richard Chai – Nothing interesting about it.
Kate Beckinsale in Marchesa – I’ve seen her wear something like this one too many times.
Kate Bosworth in Stella McCartney – She looks so old Hollywood, it’s not even possible! Like a Hitchcock heroine. I love it!
Kate Moss in Marc Jacobs – Kate loves to create her own look and stand out in a crowd. I like the idea of the turban. She looks like she just stepped out of Studio 54.
Kerry Washington in Louis Vuitton – Awful. In my humble opinion.
Kirsten Dunst in Chanel Haute Couture – I don’t know.. I have no opinion on this one. Yes I do. I like it, but without the sleeves and with open toed sandals.
Lake Bell in Rag & Bone – Costume anyone? It could do without the Ringleader’s hat, but the suit is a nice fit.
Lakshmi Menon, Rachel Roy and Joy Bryant all in Rachel Roy – I love all these dresses, especially Rachel’s and Joy’s. Lakshmi’s dress is simple, but her shoes give it an added punch.
Lara Stone in Alexander Wang – I hate it. All of it.
Leighton Meester in Louis Vuitton – I want to hate this look but I can’t! It’s wrong in all sorts of different ways! Yet, there’s something endearing about it. Could it be that Blair is wearing it?
Lily Donaldson in Narciso Rodriguez – My advice: Lose the train and pull up the hair.
Lisa Airan in Balmain – Lisa is a well-known dermatologist in New York, and she looks like she’s on her way to becoming a celebrity too. A very fashion forward dress for a skin doctor right?
Lisa Cant in Monique Lhuillier – Lisa’s face is as cute as a button, and she chose a dress that was cute and girly at the same time.
Liya Kebede – I’ve never seen Liya look serious or sombre, and I love that about her because she wears different things and new looks every time.
Lou Doillon in Nina Ricci – Her dress looks like it’s made of hearts. Which sounds like its bad, but it actually looks really good!
Madonna in Louis Vuitton – Horrible! Just horrible! The dress, the boots, the bunny headpiece.. I can’t bear looking at it anymore.. Horrible..
Maggie Rizer – I haven’t seen her in so long! I don’t like her hair blonde, I prefer her previous red hair which she was known for.
Marion Cotillard in Dior by John Galliano – I adore Marion and her style! She’s such a fantastic dresser and even the simplest of gowns, like this one, look gorgeous on her. Isn’t she such a cutie?
Marisa Tomei in vintage Adrian – I like Marisa Tomei, and I like that she looks happy no matter what she’s wearing. And because of that, I’m not going to say anything other than she looks nice.
Maryna Linchuk in Rag & Bone – It’s fun, bright and young. She looks like she could have a lot of fun in this dress.
Michelle Alves in Marchesa – I don’t know who she is, but I really love the dress, and she looks gorgeous even while many-months pregnant!
Miranda Kerr in Jil Sander – I think Miranda is one of the most beautiful people in the world, but her dress here is a bit slutty looking.
Mary-Kate Olsen in vintage Christian Lacroix Haute Couture – Typical MK. Disheveled hair, loose layered gown, smoky eye makeup. I’ve never been a fan, and now it looks like I never will be.
Molly Sims in Dolce & Gabbanna – Yes! I love this. Its short and cute with the right amount of ruffles on the shoulders, and even the bag (which I didn’t like at first) looks good with the dress.
Nadja Auermann in Lanvin – Wasn’t this dress worn by Katie Holmes last year? Not a bad look. It’s just not new.
Natalia Vodianova in Fortuny – Too simple. I thought Natalia would go all out for this event, since she’s practically a supermodel in her own right. Nice color though.
Oluchi Onweagba in Oscar de la Renta – I don’t know her, but I like her dress. It’s an eye catcher.
Paulina Porizkova in Halston – I love this color, and it looks so vintage, though it can look a bit like maternity wear.
Rachel Weisz in Vera Wang – Oh my goodness! This lipstick is horrendous on her. Its too dark for her skin tone. Her gown looks nice from the waist up, but from the bottom it looks like a tacky prom dress.
Raquel Zimmermann in Proenza Schouler – I don’t like her newly bleached hair. I like the dress’s color and I wish someone would have styled Raquel better.
Renee Zellweger in Carolina Herrera – The color reminds me of a swamp. Whatever happened to Renee’s great red carpet dressing? Someone get her a new stylist. Pronto.
Rihanna in Dolce & Gabbanna – Okay, we get it Rihanna! You’re stylish, you’re edgy, you’re hot. But today, you look awful.
Rosario Dawson, in Diane von Furstenberg – Plain Jane.
Sasha Pivovarova in Giambattista Valli – She’s wearing a GORGEOUS necklace, and the black mini dress looks great too. I don’t know how I feel about the feathered coat. But all in all, she looks attractive.
Selma Blair in Marc Jacobs – I reaaally liked her dress. And her clutch. But her hair and face looked weird. I checked a couple of pictures of her, and each one was worse than the other. I have no idea why!
Sessilee Lopez in Zac Posen – Very eye-catching and shiny. I like the colors in her dress. It’s not your typical silver or gold sequined dress.
Shalom Harlow – Looks like she’s swarmed by an attack of giant bin bags.
Stella Tennant in vintage Helmut Lang – No. Just no.
Tyra Banks in Badgley Mischka – Nice dress but.. What has Tyra done to her hair?
Winona Ryder in Marc Jacobs – What is she wearing? If you’re not going to make an effort to dress up, then don’t come to these events for God’s sake.
Victoria Beckham in Marc Jacobs – Too much tan, too little taste.
Carolina Castiglioni, Milla Jovovich, Consuelo Castiglioni, and Guinevere Van Seenus all in Marni – Everything Marni gets top points in my book! I especially love Guinevere’s dress.
Images: Instyle, Style.com
