Sure to be a talker is the display in the museum’s Versailles room, so known for its panoramic circular view of Versailles painted by John Vanderlyn between 18.įord transforms the room into a depiction of the "Battle of Versailles" – not a military conflict but the name given to a major night for American fashion in 1973 when five American sportswear designers (including Oscar de la Renta and Anne Klein) "faced off" against five French couture designers at a show in Versailles and showed the world what American fashion was made of. Scorsese knew he needed to create a story "that could be felt across the length of that room." He turned to 1940s Technicolor films and used John Stah’s "Leave Her to Heaven," which he calls "a true Technicolor noir." As to what happens before and after the scene we see – which includes a woman crying near a portrait of a man, and a Martini glass nearby – "my hope is that people will come away with multiple possibilities unfolding in their mind’s eye." For Scorsese, the fashions he was given were designed by the brilliant couturier Charles James – the subject of his Costume Exhibit (and Met Gala) in 2014. And Coppola, given the McKim, Mead & White Stair Hall and another room, writes that she at first wasn’t sure what to do: "How do you stage a scene without actors or a story?" She ultimately teamed with sculptor Rachel Feinstein to create distinctive faces for her "characters."Įach filmmaker reached into their bag of tricks. In the wing’s Gothic Revival Library, Bravo looks at the works of Elizabeth Hawes, a mid-20th century designer, and fashion writer. "Invisibility was the cloak she wore, and yet she persisted."Ī scene staged by film director Julie Dash featuring fashions by designer Eta Hentz is displayed as part of the Met Museum Costume Institute's exhibit "In America: A Lexicon of Fashion" during a press preview, New York, U.S., May 2, 2022.
"The designer was shrouded in secrecy," wrrote Dash. Dash focuses on black dressmaker Ann Lowe, who designed future first lady Jackie Kennedy’s wedding dress but was barely recognized for it. In the museum’s Shaker Retiring Room, director Zhao connects with the minimalist aesthetic of 1930s sportswear designer Claire McCardell.ĭe Wilde uses her set in the Baltimore Dining Room to examine the influence of European fashion on American women – including some disapproving American attitudes about those low-cut gowns from Paris. King said she was looking "to portray the power and strength Fannie Criss Payne exudes through her awe-inspiring story and exquisite clothing,” placing her in a prosperous working situation – and proudly wearing her design – fitting a client and employing another black woman as a seamstress.įilmmaker Blank looks at Maria Hollander, founder of a clothing business in the mid-19th century in Massachusetts who used her business success to advocate for abolition and women’s rights. She was known for stitching a name tape into her garments to "sign” her work – part of an emerging sense of clothes-making as a creative endeavor. Also contributing are Radha Blank, Janicza Bravo, Sofia Coppola, Julie Dash, Autumn de Wilde and Zhao, last year's Oscar winner.įor King, the Richmond Room, depicting early 19th-century domestic life for wealthy Virginians, provided a chance to highlight black designer Fannie Criss Payne, who was born in the late 1860s to formerly enslaved parents and became a top local dressmaker.
In addition to Scorsese, they include two of the Met Gala’s hosts Monday night – actor-director King and designer-director Tom Ford.
The nine directors were tapped to enliven the storytelling with their varying aesthetics.
A scene staged by film director Sofia Coppola featuring fashions by designer Lucie Monnay is displayed as part of the Met Museum Costume Institute's exhibit "In America: A Lexicon of Fashion" during a press preview, New York, U.S., May 2, 2022.
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