“There has been no other counterculture with as much influence on fashion,” said Andrew Bolton, curator of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute on this rainy Monday morning. Standing in front of a frozen image of the Sex Pistols’ Johnny Rotten, he was referring to the movement inspiring this year’s show, “Punk: Chaos to Couture” (May 9–August 11). Surrounding him were iconic and groundbreaking looks from the likes ofVivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren (their “Tits” and “Two Naked Cowboys” tees, shocking when released in the mid-seventies). Also featured in the preview: Gianni Versace’s safety pin dress, made famous by Elizabeth Hurley; Chanel’s “torn” suit; and a coat with giant gold rocker studs by Givenchy’s Riccardo Tisci, cochair of the show’s opening gala on May 6 with Anna Wintour, Rooney Mara, and Lauren Santo Domingo (Vogue Contributing Editor and cofounder of Moda Operandi, a sponsor of the exhibit).
“For me,” Tisci said, “it’s liberty and freedom. Youth expressing themselves. When people are honest and free, that is the most punk.” Santo Domingo added, “It’s really a theme that allows for a lot of fun. Punk crossed so many lines—politics, music, fashion, culture.” Her first encounter with the movement? In the mid-eighties, on a family trip to London. “We went to Trafalgar Square to see punks in their natural habitat. They looked like a rogue Scottish Highlander army in tartan skirts, chains, leather jackets, combat boots . . . I wore a green plaid school uniform at the time. I remember thinking to myself that I could really update my school uniform,” she laughed.
The theme will no doubt be cause for some incredible party looks the evening of the gala. And when guests are considering what to wear, remember what Bolton said at the preview this morning (citing the Sex Pistols’ “God Save the Queen”): the exhibit is the future of “no future.”
Punk: Chaos To Couture at Metropolitan Museum of Art traces punk fashion from its origins in the 1970s. Photograph: Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images
Mannequins form the costume institute exhibition “Punk: Chaos to Couture.” including the 1994 Moschino dress made of garbage bags (center).
A look from Chanel in 2011. Photo by David Sims/Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
A 1977 punk-inspired creation from zandra rhodes.Photo by Clive Arrowsmith for Zandra Rhodes Archive/Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
rodarte’s 2008 take on the movement.Photo by David Sims/Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
source WWD.com ; vogue.com
text by vogue.com
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amazing photography!
The punk movement’s influence on culture and fashion is fascinating… I actually wrote my dissertation on this, and I had trouble keeping the word count down haha. Great article!
Reblogged this on d.Kei.