The 2009 Costume Institute Gala, themed “The Model As Muse”, went on last night at the Met, with all the bold faces in fashion and modeling in attendance. Anyone can put on a pretty dress and play princess for a night (which I highly encourage!) but I favor those with that natural swagger and stature that you see coming before you even notice the clothes. I present to you, snark-free, my “best dressed” list.
The Top of the Class:
You know what I LOVE? A woman in a red dress who avoids the smoky-eye makeup cliche, like Lou Doillon (Above Left), with Olivier Theyskens and wearing his design. This ultra-chic, parisian look is only enhanced by the minimal shoe. Brilliant. Claudia Schiffer’s structural, slightly bizarre Atelier Versace (Above Right) is also divine. My two favorites, definitely.
Sasha Pivovarova’s floor-length feathers and accessories by Giambattista Valli (her date, Above Left) make an LBD remarkable. This crew (Above Right) of Carolina Castiglioni, Milla Jovovich, Consuelo Castiglioni and Guinevere Van Seenus are working their effortless and well-proportioned Marni.
Nadja Auermann (Above Left) has been iconic to me since the first time I picked up a fashion magazine. She is a goddess in Lanvin here, and a goddess the rest of the time, too. Shalom Harlow (Above Right) pulls off this thundercloud like few could…I know that many will hate this look, but I covet obscene volume and abstract shapes.
Iris Strubegger’s look embodies this Givenchy Haute Couture dress (Above Left). So strong! And I think Alexander Wang is lucky that Lara Stone’s dress (Above Right) makes it clear for us that Wang is the undisputed prince of cool, because he’s dressed like a waiter headed home after his shift. I would sell my firstborn for the chain mail dress. Also, this is one of the few looks where I felt the short-dress-and-boots combination actually worked for the occasion.
(Above Left) Erin O’Connor, doing the black column justice. Everyone gets so dolled up for this type of event that well-done minimalism stands way out. Alek Wek (Above Right) is a knockout in this shocking magenta minidress, which the short hair and deep lipcolor accent perfectly.
I love the material and color of Natalia Vodianova’s Fortuny frock (Above Left). What could be too understated on someone else looks pretty punchy when you’re rocking that face as an accessory. Anja Rubik’s Balmain (Above Right) is young, but still structured and unique. And like Lou Doillon, she made a terrific choice keeping a fairly nude face. Personally, I’d switch out the shoes, but her legs can obviously handle even the most cankle-inducing ankle straps.
Ah, all that praise. You didn’t think I could leave it at that, did you? Please. Stay tuned over the next 48 hours for more Gala fashion, with a few more hits and plenty of misses. Since “The Model as Muse” was this year’s theme, I figure “come weigh in” is an appropriate way to welcome your opinion on this post. Ha, ha.
images: Style.com
that last model looks sadly thin…how can that be considered attractive…really.
She is very thin, but many models naturally are…if someone considered “too fat” was wearing an outfit I liked, I’d post that anyway, so why not the quite-skinny Anja?
great recap! agreed with everything, including a bunch of things I hadn’t noticed before.
[...] that I’ve done my good deed for the day, let us proceed to the less fortunate outfit choices from the Costume Institute Gala. This [...]