This summer, go camping at the Met! The Costume Institute’s exhibit, Camp: Notes on Fashion, is a wild wonderland as soon as you step inside!
Attention: Camp Met is officially the new Club Med! Rachel, here, and this past weekend I took advantage of the extra day off to make a trip to the big apple where the number one thing on the list was camping. Each summer the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute debuts a breathtaking collection of fashion pieces with a unique theme. This year, co-chaired by Anna Wintour, Gucci’s Alessandro Michele and Lady Gaga, Costume Institute curator, Andrew Bolton, chose to go off the beaten path and took us to CAMP!
Camp: Notes on Fashion, inspired by Susan Sontag’s 1964 essay Notes on “Camp”, is now on display through September 8th, so book your flight for a summer getaway because this is one you don’t want to miss. As you walk into the entrance you are immediately thrust into a world of shock-and-awe. Enveloped by pink walls and revealing statues, your education on just what camp means begins in an appropriate fashion!
It is as if you are a time-traveler, moving between rooms, being transported from era to era. Beginning with the earliest of times, period piece artwork is accompanied by complimentary garments from modern day faves like Gucci, Alexander McQueen, YSL and more. The contrast of classic art and haute couture is the ideal balance of old and new, supporting Sontag’s claim that “so many of the objects prized by Camp taste are old-fashioned, out-of-date, démodé”. From the Victorian era, you move into the 1800’s where the influence of Oscar Wilde is overwhelmingly present. Breeches, waistcoats, velvet galore! One of the most prominent dandys in history, Wilde was essentially the poster child of camp in his generation.
As we made our way through the latter half of the twentieth century, camp style was really defined by the gay club scene that grew so huge in the 80’s. Think costume wear worn casually on a daily basis. The days of disco, Studio 54 and SO. MANY. SEQUINS! When thinking camp, it’s almost impossible not to think of the time so full of personality and pizazz!
Next you make your way through wall-to-wall visual examples of a sampling of Sontag’s 58 definitions of camp. Paintings from Degas displayed alongside rainbow Gucci platforms, pink feathery frocks caddy-cornering a dress in Warhol’s iconic Campbell’s soup print. Your brain might be in sensory overload at this point, but hey…that’s camp! See Cardi B’s now infamous Thierry Mugler archive oyster shell getup from the Grammys live and in person! Flip around and you’re face-to-face with (my personal favorite) Yves Saint Laurent big pink bow gown. But just wait, because this isn’t even the half of it!
The Grand Finale….
Arguably the greatest room I have ever walked into. Surrounded by fashions that’s could be described as breathtaking, the voices of numerous fashion icons fills the air as they go through each of Sontag’s 58 definitions of “camp”. Gowns overflowing with hundreds of layers of tulle sit below coats made to resemble a meal including mixed veggies and mashed potatoes. The literal next to the implied, style next to satire- the final room is something you can only experience to fully understand. Click through below to check out some of my favorite pieces in the grand finale:
Jumpsuit from Jeremy Scott, Autumn/Winter 2010-11
Sontag might have listed “the ultimate Camp statement [as ] it’s good because it’s awful”, but this exhibit is just plain GOOD! So hurry and book your ticket to NYC because this is one we will be talking about for years to come and that Anna Wintour states in her editor’s letter opening Vogue’s May issue….”this year is going to be particularly spectacular.”
And for more travel inspo check out Highlights of a Time Well Spent…..May Tour of Tuscany/Firenze Comes to a Close With a Final Day of Shopping!