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The First Monday in May (2016)
(indistinct shouting
from photographers) (indistinct shouting) Photographer: Hold that right there, please. (indistinct shouting continues) Anna Wintour: The Met stairs, you know, that famous red carpet, has grown in spectacle over the years. It's a kind of theater. (man speaks indistinctly) Fashion can create a dream, create a fantasy. But there might be some questions about whether fashion belongs in a museum like the Met. Photographer 2: Rihanna! (indistinct shouting continues) (elevator dings) Some people have a very 19th century idea of what art is. There are people within the museum who still dismiss fashion. Thomas Campbell: When I started off as a curator, art was considered to be painting, architecture and sculpture. Anything outside of that was decorative arts and, quite frankly, looked down on. Costume and fashion being one example of that. Wintour: The museum is its own little world, its own little city. Some more old-fashioned traditionalists are used to things being done in a certain way and maybe a Costume Institute makes them a bit uncomfortable. Harold Koda: Physically, the Costume Institute is subterranean. And so the psychology of it has always been that we were in the north sector... in a basement. It was not seen, really, as an art area. (indistinct conversation) Andrew Bolton: Fashion is still considered more in the female domain than something like painting. I think that's the reason why some people are quick to dismiss fashion as art. Koda: Fashion seemed frivolous and trivial to the 19th century attitudes about fine art. But it's laden with concepts, aesthetic principals, the most refined techniques... Everything that we subject the criteria of art to. We're about clothing as art works. Wintour: It's rare to find someone so creative, that they can change the way you look at an art form. But McQueen definitely did. Newsreader: Our top story: Alexander McQueen has been found dead apparently committing suicide at his London flat. Newsreader 2: Brilliant and controversial fashion designer... Newsreader 3: The bad boy of British fashion died an icon. An inspirational designer who helped transform the fashion industry. Newsreader 4: They were shutting down his shops today, and there were people fleeing his shops crying. (bagpipes playing) (cameras clicking) Campbell: It was the immediate aftermath of McQueen's suicide... Andrew came to me and said that he had been thinking about an exhibition. Tom was reluctant initially. He felt it was a bit ghoulish. There needed to be some time before we did an exhibition of McQueen. Wintour: A lot of people felt that an exhibition may not be appropriate so soon after he, he died in such an awful way, but Andrew is a real visionary, and our job is to help him execute his creative genius. Campbell: The combination of the objects, the very theatrical mise-en-scne, the sound... (sound of rushing air) There was an immersive component to the exhibition that took it to a new level. The degree to which the show became a phenomenon... None of us were prepared for that. People queuing around the museum. It hasn't happened for many years. Wintour: It touched a chord in people that I'd never seen before. Campbell: It redefined exhibition-making in museums. Bolton: "Savage Beauty" was the turning point in terms of how art critics began to view fashion, and the first time they did begin to see it as an art form. When you're confronted by genius, it speaks to everybody. McQueen was one of the most provocative designers, but I always saw this incredible beauty about his work and this deep romance. He always tried to tap into this juncture between beauty and ugliness and terror. And he had that ability to use clothes to move you. The McQueen show has become a little bit of an albatross in a way... A millstone around my neck. Because it's the show that every show that I've done subsequently is measured against. Invariably the reviews in The New York Times... "Not as good as the McQueen show." And it's sort of... disappointing to read that in print because every show has its own momentum. I remember being at school, and we had a career adviser. They went around the class saying, you know, "What's your ideal job?" And I said my ideal job would be curator in the Costume Institute of the Met. And I was about 17. It really was a dream come true. I was just so seduced by the romance of getting lost in the museum and finding objects that you weren't expecting. But my overwhelming emotion was just being intimidated by the museum and the curators. I felt a bit of a fraud as well, to be honest. I felt as if I was gonna get found out really quickly that I wasn't actually meant to be doing the job. I still feel a bit like that. This show that we're currently curating is called "China: Through the Looking Glass." It's a collaboration between the Costume Institute and the Department of Asian Art. We want to show how Western fashion designers look to China for inspiration. There is this ongoing dialogue between the East and the West. And fashion is easier to understand than language itself. Every show I do is quite personal and I'm so tired of hearing how McQueen is the most successful show we've ever done. It would be nice if China was able to knock it off its pedestal. Bolton: It's like the Great Wall of China. (Wintour chuckles) - Let's start at the beginning - Wintour: Wow! - Wintour: - It's huge. Yeah. Bolton: We have a whole section based on blue and white porcelain. Starting with a really early one from Molyneux from the 20s. - And then Sarah's from... - Wintour: They were amazing. Bolton: This is Guo Pei, a Chinese designer. Cavalli, Karl, Rodarte... That leads into St. Laurent's Chinese collection - and his Opium scent. - Okay. We're borrowing one of those from the St. Laurent archive. But the big presence really is John's Chinese collection for Dior. Oh, wow! Look at the fullness. Love his tailoring. Bolton: Galliano is a designer who is difficult to unpack. Because he's collaging all these ideas into a particular collection. He's taken the idea of the 18th Century panier, which is normally at the side of the gown, and twisted it around so its frontal. He's doing so many references to the Bowery, the Queen Mother. Eighteenth century, Peking opera, Kabuki. He's an amazing storyteller on the level of fantasy and romance. So I wanted to interview John because he looks at China constantly for inspiration. What surprised me was how consistent China was as an inspiration in your work and I just wanted to find out, why China? I think it was that sense of mystery and... ...danger, but only danger that you've got that feeling through portrayals from Hollywood. There's mixtures of Chinese opera, geisha and the Queen Mother... I don't think I set out to recreate China. As you can see, I certainly didn't achieve it. So, it was a fantasized... ...vision of China. A fictional character develops, and I kinda, like, start living it, breathing it. Paint the picture who she is, how she looks by candle light. Can you smell that powdery lipstick? I like to express my emotion through the cut. Each time you cut a fabric, it's a different relationship you have to it. It can be like mercurial liquid oil. Or like licorice. The creative process is my meditation. Playing with textures and shapes and volumes... That's something that I love. And because of that, I am able to to even think about going back into an industry where I've become an outcast. That fantasy world that I create is an escape for me. (indistinct chatter) Bolton: John weaves these very personal and seemingly bizarre narratives into his fashion. It's quite easy to dismiss fashion designer's engagement with China, as being inauthentic. But I want to focus on these works of art that are extraordinary examples of a designer's imagination. You think about someone like Saint Laurent... He absolutely changed the course of fashion history. There's about 2,000 pieces in total haute couture? I think it's more. - Between 5,000 and 6,000. - Six thousand. - So beautiful... - It's a Mondrian. You've got so many of them. Yeah, we have different versions. Bolton: The Mondrian dress, with the idea of lining up the stripes. It's such tour de force, isn't it? Bolton: It looks very easy. It's such a complicated thing to achieve. It's so radical. Do you have the '71? - Seventy-one fur, yeah! - You do. Yeah. Okay. Bolton: The craftsmanship that went Saint Laurent's clothes, his usage of embroidery, the element of camp... It's iconic. Bolton: They are unquestionably works of art. Oh, my goodness, I haven't seen that before. It's very modern. Unbelievable. Bolton: I see so much magic still in fashion. It's just overwhelming. A dream come true. (chuckles) Bolton: I grew up in a small town in England. And the only access I had to fashion were star magazines, emerging in the 80s. I just missed the punk movement. The first movement that I really engaged with was New Romanticism. Which was all about gender blurring. I remember seeing people on the streets thinking how they looked like they'd arrived from another planet. But also how brave they were. I was so impressed by the power of fashion to confront gender and sexuality. That's never left me, anyway. You're still that little kid from Lancashire who... ...is totally in awe. Ah, Lawrence, where is Singh, please? - Lawrence: - Okay. Wintour: The Costume Institute and Vogue have a long history together. Diana Vreeland actually ran it after she left Vogue. Please don't stand there! Wintour: We have one major party every year to raise funds for the Costume Institute. The party supports our operating budget for the entire year. Koda: The Met Gala was the invention of this small group of fashion professionals. It was relatively small, but the department itself was very small. Bolton: Anna's taking it to a different level, in terms of the money that she's raised over the years. $120 million for our department alone. Michelle Obama: Thanks to Anna's contributions, the exhibits at the Costume Institute have drawn hundreds of thousands of visitors to this great American museum. (applause) Since Anna Wintour has taken over the Met ball, it has become the Super Bowl of social fashion events. It starts with months of preparations, not just for the exhibit, but for the actual Met Gala. Woman: We're starting to plan for the gala, starting to organize with everything. Do we want to talk about guest count right now? I think we should keep the number as low as we possibly can. We were 608 last year. Okay, we're gonna start with 500. - Five hundred. - Five hundred. Five hundred. And everybody is cutting their numbers, right, Harold? - Do we need to talk about it? - Yeah, we're trying. There is the issue of our partnership with the Chinese Department... That's another... We really have to keep the numbers down and also the free seats. There must be another way that we can accommodate people. You'll figure it out. Anna is meticulously vetting every single thing, from the napkins, to the forks, to the lighting... The detail of the flowers, the detail of the ushers, the way they're dressed. Everything has been vetted by her for months and weeks and months and weeks. Okay, is there going to be somebody literally here? We have two people here. Will there be someone there too? Yes, we have literally an army up here. It's a full battle squad. Andr Leon Talley: She has her legions, her generals, who work at Vogue. Hi, girls, the plan today is just to walk through the path that our guests are gonna be taking, and also to place you in your positions. So if you could make your way up the stairs, just stagger yourselves, girls. Please scatter a few steps up. Talley: Now, the Met is a place that you consider very, very correct. Very formal. Anna has taken that out of the Met. Photographer: Happy! Sylvana Ward Durrett: We have Dave Franco, and then who's the other one you were saying? Josh Hartnett. What has he done lately? Nothing. You guys are set. You have great carpet material right now. Yeah, you have Kendall! Michael Kors has Liz Banks and Kate Hudson. Prada has Emily Blunt. Ralph has Anne Hathaway. Versace has JLo. Beyonc, Kim and Kanye, Rihanna, Kara, Amber Heard, Chastain, Julianne Moore... All of those people are us, I believe, right? Woman: Yes. They want to come? - We're not completely sure yet. - Okay. Baz Luhrmann: As an icon, Anna is very unique. On the face of it, she's the editor of a very powerful American-based magazine. She's the artistic director of a whole stable of magazines. But that is not really the power of Anna Wintour. Anna's gift is bringing culture, both high and low, to cross-fertilize. - Hi, guys! - Hey, Anna! - You ready? - Totally. Okay, let's see the walk. The Met Gala is a celebration of a multi-cultural moment. Pop and fine art mix in the Metropolitan Museum. Luhrmann: You can have an acting icon next to a musical icon, next to a political icon. It's like a giant aquarium on that night. Durrett: A lot of thought goes into who sits next to who. If they sat next to each other last year. If they sat next to each other at other events. So much goes into it. It's shocking. A lot of power-brokering. Alex has six seats, he's bringing Gaga, Miley, Zoe. Here's Tory. Durrett: Ah-hah. She's looking for one other guy. And then Ricardo is down here with Jessica, Julianne and Beyonc. So that's that. What Anna has done is understood that high fashion, I mean, the most extraordinary expression of this medium, when it's paired with celebrity, becomes something bigger than both. And that is what happens on the red carpet. When you see Rihanna in a couture gown, it's transcendent. Talley: Each celebrity has been chosen to wear a gown by designers. It's like assignments. The Met, for me, means a lot. It's the only red carpet I do. Riccardo Tisci: Each designer brings his own muse. A singer, a friend, a model, an actress. You bring the person that most represents your aesthetic. Koda: That attention all accrues to the reputation of the museum. I thought he wasn't coming. I know, but then he decided he wanted to come. Okay. Can he not be on his cell phone the entire time then? - Mm-hmmm. - Maybe send him that message. Loud and clear. - Who's that? - These are the two HandM people. Wintour: We shouldn't bury this table. Seriously. - Yes. - That's not fair. - Okay. - Okay? And then who are these people? Those are people who I'm hoping will go away. Okay. The exhibition, "China through the Looking Glass," will present an image of China that is a fabulous invention. Often film is the first lens through Western designers encounter Chinese imagery. And the exhibition will explore the impact of movies in shaping their fantasies. The film perhaps that's had the greatest influence on designers, is Wong Kar Wai's In the Mood for Love. No one has made the chi-pao look quite as beautiful on screen as Wong Kar Wai. In the Mood for Love, I would see it many times and I love it. It was like a truly, like, beautiful gesture. The colors were fantastic. It's after that that I did my Chinese collection. I think is must be like one year after. It's good even not to go to the country! It's better, I think, like to see through a book, or to see all movie, on the souvenir you have. Bolton: We thought Kar Wai was the right choice to be the artistic director of the exhibition. Bolton: We're working on the exhibition design concepts still. We're having the films be the filter between the art objects and the high fashions. Sometimes directly related, and sometimes more of a metaphorical device. I would love the films to be projected, so that they're almost these spectral figures throughout the show. Because I don't think this show will have a linear narrative. Now the structure of the show is more like a Chinese garden. You have an entrance, but then you're free to walk. That's a really good point. Kar Wai: So, I would use this medium to create a continuity and, also, the expression. Bolton: There's two venues for the exhibition. We have the Costume Institute galleries in the basement of the museum, and then we also have the Chinese galleries on the second floor. The Chinese galleries themselves weren't designed for costumes, they were designed for flat works of art. So incorporating costume within them is challenging, to say the least! Mike Hearn: We have over 50 galleries of Asian art at the Met, so it's probably the most comprehensive collection of Asian art anywhere. There are bigger collections of Chinese art in China obviously. There's better collections of Cambodian art in Cambodia. But we do a pretty good job. What I want to do is do these 20-foot plexi-rods of different sizes of that naturally bend and light them. So this is the first room that you see. Yes, bamboo forest. The bamboo platform comes all the way out here, then it turns. The height of the bamboo goes just underneath - the Arthur Sackler... - Bolton: Gallery. Nathan Crowley: As you walk to the great early Buddha sculpture hall, you are transported into another world. We tried to show Chinese art from the perspective of the Chinese themselves. It's not Disneyland. I'm gonna put a 14-foot wide platform by 12-foot platform here. Cover this with a grey mirror. I think Mike thought it might look a bit too Disney. We're gonna have panels anyway. I think we just make them. Bolton: The curators in the Asian Art Department were worried about some of the topics the exhibition was addressing. It opens up debates about colonialism, Orientalism, which could be interpreted as being racist. Hearn: For the West, it didn't matter whether we're talking about China, Japan, Korea. All of that was somehow lumped together as "Oriental." And I think there's still a really strong sense that China has been taken advantage of, maybe misunderstood, by the West. Isn't this place marvelous? Look at those faces. Hindu, Chinese, Portuguese, Filipinos, Russians, Malaya. I didn't think such a place existed except in my own imagination. Bolton: So many designers reference China through the films of the 30s. It's the China that is the stereotype. And I want to sort of deconstruct those stereotypes. And tease out some of the complexities and the dangers, but also the romance of them, as well. Anna May Wong was a Hollywood starlet in the 30s and 40s, who was fated to play stereotypes of the Chinese woman. And it's either the Lotus Blossom, or the Dragon Lady, which is basically an Orientalized femme fatale. Don't do anything foolish. The Dragon Lady is a figure who projects our fears and desires and anxieties onto you. She is quasi-matriarchal, she is financially independent, she's sexually liberated. She in a way lends herself to a feminist interpretation... ...because the Dragon Lady has become a way to represent any powerful woman. I though the gentleman in the black night gown was the boss. Who, Money Bags? He's an errand boy. The real boss is a remarkable lady, the most cold-blooded dragon you will ever meet. She'll devour you like a cat swallows a mouse. I've never seen anything like it. You walk in and this is what you see? It's not possible. This is the reception area? Man: This is when you walk in... The racks? I need to look at a plan. This is not what you want to see when people walk in. Okay, so this has to go. Xavier, are you listening to me? - Yes. - Okay. All this furniture here should go. Get rid of all that. It has to look like an area that you walk into. - That it's professional. - Yes. Not like a second-hand vintage store. No, no, no, in the closet. What about the lobby furniture? I didn't even look at that. This is making me feel violently ill. Take the whole thing out. It's horrible. It's just gonna give people a headache. Are we able to soften it a little bit so it's not... So it doesn't look like a disco. (indistinct speech) Let me say something about the Dragon Lady image. Anna has a public image. Hi, thank you for joining us. Anna Wintour, welcome to CNN. Luhrmann: A lot of that is absolutely true, but I do think that if Anna was a man, there might be less focus on that. Because of your success and your determination, you've earned a reputation of being intimidating. Is that unfair? Um, I think I'm decisive, and I like to get things done quickly, so if that comes across as intimidation, I'm sorry to hear it. There are so many different stereotypes and... I... ...think if one is bothered by it, ...it's a little bit fruitless because it's out there. Inevitably, I have to ask you just one question about Devil Wears Prada. A former assistant wrote the book, later turned into a movie. Do you feel that that was a breach of trust? Ah, well... It's part of life. Stereotypes always are going to exist, is what you do with them, what you make of them. I think that she brought attention to fashion, in a way... You can look at it in a negative way, or in a positive way. I choose to look at it in a positive way. In some ways, I think I should be grateful to her. Luhrmann: I've seen her recently play herself, and she plays the person everyone thinks she is. But it's a character. It's kind of her "work armor." (indistinct conversations) Man: There's an updated decor concept. We've floralized quite a lot of the design. This is one idea. And now this is the other. That might be a bit much for the carpet. I think that we can... - Tone it down. - Exactly. That's a lot of flowers. What are the flowers underneath? - Looks like wisteria. - It's wisteria, yes. Wisteria and bamboo. What about pale lilac rather...? We can do pale. Cause I think pale would look prettier with the blue than that dark color. - I don't like that combination. - With this color. - But pale. - Yes. - We can go back to this. - Yeah, we'll talk about it. - Temple of Dendur... - Wow... Don't know about that. Man: What aren't you sure of? I don't see how you can compete with the temple. Whatever you put there is gonna look fake. Man: There's very little we can do. This is gonna look like a Chinese restaurant. I just don't see how you can compete with that. - Yeah, no. - I mean it's, well... If it was at night, you have more of a chance. Yeah. So my advice is, I would keep to the bridge, - I'd definitely do the lilies. - Bolton: The lilies. And some decoration and then some Chinese-type furniture. Okay, thank you. Bolton: We haven't yet finalized the design of the exhibition. We're end of December at the moment, so that's pretty late, in fact, it's very late. Campbell: One of the big challenges is the short time period in which we are pulling the exhibition together. It's the largest costume exhibition we've ever done. I really want the pace to change when you go through, so I like the fact that this is quieter and more reflective. And here, - it's just sensory overload. - It's just a drawing. Bolton: It's proving difficult, not just because of the size and scope of the exhibition, but there's a lot of conceptual challenges and political hurdles. (speaking Chinese) Bolton: They're constantly being brought up by the Asian Art Department. Probably this one... Hearn: What is key for the success of all of this is that there is some conversation with the Chinese works of art, so that it is not just wallpaper. I think bringing Western fashion into the Chinese galleries could be perceived as a misinterpretation of who the Chinese are, what Chinese culture is about. - (elevator dings) - (indistinct speech) This area is fashion inspired by Imperial China. So the idea is the Chinese objects will be in the perimeters in the cases and the fashion's in the middle, that's the constant you can see throughout. We put a color theme to each of these rooms by using a light source around those objects. So we go from blue probably to gold and over to red. The different light colors the rooms. Is that a bit rainbow? Maybe... Bolton: You don't want to be fighting with the objects. It'd be nice if it was a very subtle glow because otherwise, your eyes are being dilated by the light in the-- You don't want it to look like an amusement park. Yeah. All right, let's go on. So now we go into the bamboo forest, so we moved on and become a little more surreal, by using lit plexi-rod. It transfers the light all the way through the rod. I'm hoping over 20 foot it would still maintain a lot of that light. Bolton: That's great. And you're okay, Mike? What we want to be careful about is just making sure that between the costumes and the bamboo forest, that we don't completely obscure the sculptures there. My goal is just to make sure that the Chinese objects really look their best, and that they aren't overshadowed or demeaned by whatever we do design-wise. But obviously for the run of this exhibition, those objects are going to be not... They're gonna be less accessible. But there's plenty of other things for people to see. I generally like the idea, but I just want to exercise as much discretion as possible, so that nobody comes around and just says we're using Chinese art as just a stage prop. In the architectural drawings, I created all these sight lines to the artwork. I think there's 700 rods. Do you think we need that many? Yeah, I think we might need to go to a thousand. Well, yeah, but it takes a lot to fill a room, and your room is enormous. At first, I thought we'd need 3,000 so... Which seems like a lot, but it's not. Are these tablecloths all going to be different colors? Yes, so these tablecloths are going to be - the colors of the cushions. - Yeah, I like those colors. - Yeah. - Oh... - (doorbell rings) - Okay. - How are you? - Hello. - Hi. - Hi. - So much to talk about. - I know. Can I ask this question? How "Chinesey" like...? We can show you. Like, how chinoiserie is it? Is the whole thing? Let me show you a rendering. Wintour: What do you think about this, as you walk up the steps? Raul vila: Dragons when people arrive. So that's why... It's more like an entrance, like, "Hey, you're in China." Dragons might be a bit too obvious. Can I say this? I think it's fantastically strong, and I think it should be strong. Right? But the reason I'm slightly reticent is, in terms of the crowd coming, how much classical Chinese imagery do you think they expect? What they're gonna see when they walk in. When you go inside the great hall, you see this. Now that I think is unassailably beautiful. They say "China" without saying "Chinese theme park." I think the double dragons at the front belong to another show. Right? And by the way, the water slide at the end of it is awesome, right? - Okay? - (laughter) Is this based on a Chinese something? Anna, it's the "something" part than I'm worried about. The complexity of the subject matter itself requires delicate handling so we're not misunderstood. We're working around the main mine fields. How many pieces in the exhibition? You already got everything you want to borrow from China? We're just waiting to hear from the Imperial Palace. It would be ideal to get a Mao suit worn from one of the Communist Party members during the Cultural Revolution. But, I think, politically, I think it's difficult. Mao is an icon, and so there's a limit to what our Chinese friends will tolerate in terms of how Mao is treated. - It has to be respectful. - I think so. Of course, something is probably going to blow up at any moment. The building with all the flags is the National Museum. Then the one on the other side of the flag is the Great Hall of the People. And this is the entrance to The Forbidden City. So you'll see the Mao portrait. It's incredible. On display next to me is a dress by Roberto Cavalli, whose colors and motifs pay obvious homage to Chinese blue and white porcelain. Fashion is about ideas. The way we live. (indistinct conversation) Campbell: Guys, you really have your work cut out. Our aim is to beat McQueen numbers. Bolton: "China, Through the Looking Glass," I think it's going to be inevitably controversial. There's going to be dissenters. But I'm not afraid of controversy. And I think the show should be controversial and provocative. - Hi! - Hey... - Good to see you again. - Good to see you. Bolton: So here is where I'm thinking about putting Mao, the Buddha gallery. It's the only space I can think about putting him. I think if we can have the Mao jacket sculpture here, that would be the centerpiece, focusing on the idea of changing nature of deities within China and the idea of monumentality... You'd be able to take out all these Buddhas here? We'd keep the Buddhas in. And you put Mao with all these Buddhas? Yeah. I think it makes sense intellectually because of the deification of Mao in China. I think it would be surprising to have Mao in that space. And it makes sense. You have some hesitancy still, Kar Wai, about the Buddhist gallery. - Yeah. - You still feel it. You still feel Mao might not work there? Because I think it will be... First of all, it will be an insult, too sensitive for like, not the government, besides that, it's the Chinese and also the Buddhists. And I'm thinking... Is it nice to get some controversy though? Maybe not the way that you want. Not in this particular context. Why don't we just put it just before you walk into this big Buddhist hall. You have this Mao section. - Nice idea, actually. - Yeah. There's a lot to see. The material is so rich. But try not to make the show too busy. Because seeing too much is seeing nothing. I think we are all looking forward to this exhibition. But also have a lot of questions. From the little we can gather, it seems like there's a lot of symbols about dragons and Ming vases. Why is that? And anything else, because I, honestly, I don't want to see another Ming vase. I love blue and white porcelain so I'm happy to see it in the exhibition. I think a lot of people's questions will be it seems like the more contemporary version of China. It's not really included in this kind of imagery, repertoire... It's not, you're absolutely right. That's not the focus of the exhibition, modern China. - It's very much on the history. - Reporter: Yes. You mention a lot about fantasies, but fantasy always entails misconstrued, misinterpretation, reality... So how the Western perceive Chinese and how Chinese perceive their own culture will be quite different, from what I gather. Were you questioning the idea of fantasy and fashion? I think if we don't have fantasy in fashion, then fashion will never change. Of course, we all will love to embrace fantasy in fashion, but fantasy is very likely to also entail misinterpretations or misconceptions. So, as a curator, you must have thought about that. Yeah, but I think, as Anna says, all fashion tells stories. Every item in the exhibition tells its own story. All you're seeing in the exhibition are designers celebrating actually Chinese culture. We're also including the work of several Chinese designers, like Guo Pei and Laurence Yu. Chinese designers also gravitate towards the same sort of symbols as Western designers. It's not exclusively about the West appropriating Chinese symbols. - Thank you. - Bolton: Thank you. I think she was really politicizing it. ...the idea of the West just plundering the East for inspiration. Or the fact that it's all about the past. Yes. She just wants everything to start in 1949 - Woman: Are you good to start? - (chuckles) Yes. (speaks Chinese) China went through a unique period in its history. During this period of history, many Chinese destroyed their own tradition. But I feel today, it's changing. I want to integrate traditional Chinese culture with modern aesthetics. Eastern and Western cultures collide together. We want to find the wisdom left by our ancestors. So now, I am using my skills to create something for the nation. As if I were making a wedding dress for my country with love in my heart. How's the Guo Pei piece? - Is it heavy? - Very heavy. Bolton: Beijing seems like a dream now. I was panic-stricken when I came back about how much work we have to do. Such a crisis point in terms of concerns about possible responses to the exhibition worldwide. All the Chinese, in the last few hundred years, we were always looking backward, we forget progress, modernization. So the new generation of Chinese have benefitted from modernization. They were afraid your exhibition is too much only the past. A lot of Chinese, they're wondering why all this dragon rope, the beautiful coating, not Chinese modern things... Modern film, modern art... How would you represent through fashion, modern China? How would you represent that? The show is also posing questions like, what is the contemporary Chinese aesthetic? Because there's none at this point. Not yet. In the making. - So this is in the making? - Yeah. So, in a way, looking back doesn't mean you are nostalgic. I think the only way to move forward is not to forget about your past. We confront the idea of the orientalist stereotyping of China. Particularly through the character, Anna May Wong. But also talk about the genuine reciprocity between China and the West. We've just got approval to start building. So we're on a super-tight time frame. (chuckling) Incredible. Incredible. I think the objects that we've chosen are really compelling, really seductive, and once you overlay them with the curatorial narrative, it could be extraordinary. - Andrew. - Hey, Mike, how are you? My biggest concern, Andrew, frankly, is just to make sure that people don't find the intensity of the installation, and the kind of... Shall we say the imposition of the design so powerful, that it overshadows the intellectual content. I think what happens with this is it diminishes the focus on the intellectual content, and it just raises the level of, well, this is all about... ...creating a sense of hype, which is different from what your goals are, and what my goals are. Bolton: It's a little bit frustrating because sometimes there's not an overall understanding of the narrative of the show, but also the complexity from the design prospective. So it's just... Yeah, a bit frustrating. I try not to listen too much to other people in terms of what they expect the show to be and to try and trust my own judgment. Many people have a superficial understanding of fashion. People underestimate the power of clothes to tell stories, or to speak to people. There is the perennial debate about whether or not fashion can ever be art. It has, in some instances, to do with intention, that when a designer is creating something, they think they're creating an art work. Most designers, however, don't approach it that way. I never, never, never dreamed that my clothes should be in a museum. I think that fashion is supposed to represent what's happening in society, politically, economically... The clothes have to live. It's a little boring, that designers say they are artists, especially when they say it themselves, thinking, "You're an artist, one should not be on a runway, but one should be in a gallery." So go to a gallery. What we do is applied art. Chanel never said that she was an artist. She was a dress-maker. Madame Vionnet was a dressmaker. Madame Lanvin was a dressmaker. They wanted to dress a certain kind of society. They were happy and flattered when those women bought those dresses. Koda: Of course, not all fashion is art. It's not. Some of it is purely commercial. But we still struggle at the Costume Institute, because as Americans, there's a kind of puritanical tradition. And we hate the notion that there might be commerce associated with anything, because somehow that makes it less pure. But as the definitions of art have become more elastic, you know, post-Dada, post-Warhol, we're no longer bound by the 19th century categories of fine versus applied art. We never give up on this idea that something transcendent can be expressed in that same very prosaic thing that you wear. Bolton: I would certainly classify Lagerfeld as an artist, even though he always refutes it. The application of his embroideries, it's an artistic expression. (indistinct conversation) When you discover someone like John Galliano, you really are in the presence of a true artistic genius. This is strange. This is like seeing a child you haven't seen for a very long time. Some of those stitches you're not allowed to do anymore because they'll turn you blind. It's not for me to say it's art or not, but, certainly, the way we apply some things and the inspiration we took... We did some wonderful things. Wonderful things. Koda: There is something about the human impulse to communicate and express. An encyclopedic museum like the Met attempts to gather together the most extraordinary manifestations of those impulses. Keith, it's Sylvana. Can you give me a call back? I just want to talk about Rihanna's budget. Call me. Bye. So, Rihanna... - Keith: (over phone) Yeah. - We can't lose her, right? So, is it just that she has a larger crew than Kanye did? She has a massive team that she travels with, and that's how she rolls. Originally, the budget was over (bleep) hundred thousand. I told not to even send it to me until they worked on it, because it was a non-starter, so they went back, and they sent me a budget that lowered it (bleep) hundred thousand. And I said, you know, this is a charity so... She's expensive, period. We knew it, we just didn't realize how expensive. So, I think talk to Anna and see, you know, if she can set that gentle note, thanking them, but at the same time... - Gentle nudge. - Anything you can do. Yeah. I'm breaking out in hives right now. (phone ringing) Hi. Okay, I don't know what to say. I have no answer. She is one of the biggest acts in the world. It's about twice as much as any performer we've ever had. They're not interested in making it come down any further. They feel that they've done a lot. So it's gonna take a higher level ask... You know, from you. (chuckles) Yes, that would be perfect. Luhrmann: We live for a cultural experience, to feel like we're not alone, to learn something about ourselves, to revel in the human journey. But of course, there's glamour, and of course there's... "What are the parties like?" And there's gossip. But if it takes a little bit of Rihanna dancing on the tabletop to get the attention, then so be it. And then Jennifer Lawrence comes up and speaks, Guong Lee speaks, and then Jennifer Lawrence says, "Ladies and gentlemen... ...Rihanna." Wintour: In the world that we work in, you need the mixture of art and commerce. You need both. Too much of one or the other would not work. They have to exist... hand-in-hand. If you could say one brief thing about two cultures coming together. That's what I want to say again. I want to say thank you. - Two cultures. - Yeah. You're gonna be incredible. Beautiful. I can't wait. I feel better now. No, no, no. It's gonna be amazing. It's always so calm up here. That's because nothing's going in. Wow, it's a lot of work. Bolton: So we can't install until the lights arrive, okay? The lights are one week late. Why are they late? Because they're not ready? I don't know. It's beyond me why. We're already eight days late on the panels delivery, according to the schedule. We just did the math, at this rate, we're talking about 6.8 days... Middle of next week. And obviously that doesn't work. We gotta be realistic, that we know what we're doing. We're out of time. How much overlap is there between building and art installation? There can't be any. So you've got ten days. It's flat out now until we open. Bolton: We just underestimated the scale of the show. It's like putting three shows on at the same time. I, unfortunately, have a very organic approach to curating, so I tend to change things as I go along. This time around, we're driving everyone crazy. And what is the plan for the show in terms of lighting? Tomorrow, can we start working on these two galleries? Whenever we can get to something, we do it. - That's... - Who is going to tell you when? We walk around and around and around and we look, and we say, "We can do that." And we go and do that. - But we have like 15 galleries. - Clint Coller: I know. It's a huge space. We need them to absolutely place the mannequins. - This is... - This is something that... We have to talk to Andrew about this. Right. Kar Wai: Andrew... - Meet five minutes with me. - Bolton: Okay. At some point, I just need you to give me mannequins. - Mm-hmm. - Because without the dresses, and that's fine, but you have to tell me, which directions the mannequins are facing. - Mm-hmm. Okay. - Can you do that? Yeah. The schedule that they let us know today, it means we have, basically, two days to install the whole exhibition. We only have a rehearsal for the temple? Worse-case scenario, yeah. Monday, you don't have any rehearsal? No. There's no time on Monday, we have to do that Sunday. The temple's open on Sunday. You're kidding, that's not possible. - Why? - Why? Because we need to rehearse. He needs to be with Rihanna. We have a lot to do. We should close it. It just means that from the general public's point of view, there is absolutely no access to the entire north end of the building... That's the... That's... All the... They'll come back next week. Please, otherwise, it's just... Raul is going to have to be up three nights in a row. - It's not human. - (laughter) Okay, the public will come back. - All right, anything else? - No, I think we've covered it. It was Anna's understanding that, if he was paying the balance, we weren't going to add those seats. Obviously it's more money for the museum, but the problem is we want to keep this an intimate setting because that's why people come to this. We're extremely appreciative, I just... I... I don't know what to do, We just don't have the seats. Wintour: Okay, I could swap Baz with Harpers. And where is Harvey? Harvey's right here. He won't like that. Can we put somebody better here and move them there? It doesn't have to be Harvey. I think Anne Hathaway should be here. We're struggling to make this work right now. We still have three people that don't have seats at the moment. Can we block off the middle part and in here, just make a little hole here? Because if we do something in between these two pillars, this is what they're concerned about. This is not art. This is a pillar. Oh no, it is Tiffany. - Those are the Tiffany pillars. - Expensive pillars. Wintour: We're trying to work with you guys. You told us what we were trying to do here was first possible then it's not possible. And then we move the tables. Woman: You have to understand... You are basically scrubbing Engelhardt Court of all the art. Wintour: Yes... But this is not actually about that tonight. It's actually about raising money for the museum, which we have done. Nathan? Do the lights work? We'll know in the next two hours. What happens if they don't? Yes, that's better. Once you see those together... Incredible. We'll be finished, you know, in the next hour. Okay, you'll be finished by the end of the day though? I mean, we'll finish by... Before we leave tonight. (indistinct speech in background) Okay, okay, okay. Talley: The dress is beautiful. - It's so beautiful. - The dress fits. - It fits? - It fits. Maybe too tight here. Yeah, that's what I was thinking, maybe... Here, I'll deal with that. Talley: The color is superb on you. And what do you think of the bracelet? Mom only like diamonds. Talley: So now you should walk. Walk out of the room. Excellent! Sexy and soign. It's very beautiful. A superb dress. Luhrmann: Anna is kinda beyond legacy. I mean, she's got a legacy. She could disappear to Alaska now and never be seen again, dressed as Nanook of the North, or something, and, you know, she's got a legacy. She sent me the fitting pictures... Luhrmann: She's a big business entity. But the whole idea with the Met Gala... it's not a commercial consideration. It's a cultural consideration. I don't pretend to be a fashion historian, but I think fashion should be recognized when you see how it touches people and moves people. I mean, what more can you ask from art? - My God. - (gasping) Oh, my God. She's gonna die, has she seen it? Man: No she hasn't been here yet. My God... (chuckling) We did it! I'm gonna cry. Unbelievable! Wintour: Does this go to the top? Unbelievable. Best one ever. How many roses? 250,000. (laughs) (applause) (clears throat) Good morning. "China: Through the Looking Glass" is almost three times the size of our usual spring shows. In total, there are over 150 costumes and accessories, and over 40 designers. - (indistinct speech) - (cameras clicking) What a relief that's over with. - Yeah, but... - (smashing) (giggling) Is that good luck? - It wasn't a mirror. - I'm sure it is. Special kudos to Andrew for surviving. It works so beautifully in the galleries. It really does. I couldn't agree more. I'm thrilled. I love you. Was the speech ok? Really good. Yeah. Did I sound like the Queen of England? No! (mocking laughter) I'll see you later. Probably about two-ish. So this is HandM. This is Veronica. Vivienne. And this is Cartier. That's the best solution, and then the small one is in the middle, right? Okay, right. - Yeah. - Let's move this in a bit. Yes. This is such a bad table, but someone's gotta take this table. But no celeb, right? Chloe Sevigny, Solange Knowles. Oh. But they'll talk to who? Odell Beckham. Durrett: It's tight, but it's always tight. Wintour: These are fun people, right? It's fine. Yeah. This is fine. (laughing) He's like, "What are you talking about? What happened?" What is this? Nylon? - Durrett: No - Silk. - Pure silk. - Made in China. (cheering) Alright, George, let's do this. Let's get this thing going. What the fuck is this? The other leg. Let's see the legs. - (chuckles) - Thank you, darling. (cheering) Talley: Come over here, baby, come to me. Only you can wear a dress like this. The body rocks. What do you do to keep the body rocking? What do you do? Are you getting good pictures of the dress and everything? Chloe Malle: I was worried people would take Chinese-inspired and do something wildly offensive and actually people have been very creative and done some really beautiful things. Some major headwear. (cheering) Do you all love Chinese food? I do. - He doesn't. What do you like? - No, I love Chinese food. What's your favorite dish? I like fried chicken wings and General Tso's chicken with some shrimp, and chicken fried rice. - I know you work for Vogue... - (laughs) He works for Vogue, but you better tell the truth. Anne Hathaway is heaven. Looks so good, yeah. Amanda Seyfried and Justin Long look adorable together. She's in custom Givency couture. (screams) Cher? I want Cher. Someone help me! Could you help me? Come on here, baby. Come to me. Why did you let that happen? Can someone go tell Sally that the Clooneys did not stop? Go tell her now. You know the Clooneys didn't stop. So let Anna know that. George said hello but Mrs. Clooney did not stop in her Galliano dress, I told Sally. We got Justin Bieber, OK? Sale bte! Sale bte! Darling, wow! How does it feel to be one of the 100 most influential persons - in Time magazine? - Oh, thank you. That is so brilliant. I think it's so great the way you're supporting your step-father. - Of course. - It's really beautiful. - It's really important. - It really is. We're here with dresses, but, listen, after all... (inaudible) Hi, Pat! We gonna party tonight We gonna turn up tonight Oh, yeah Oh, yeah Oh, yeah Michael Kors: The exhibit is this way. Do you know how crazy I'd look in a head piece like that? You could pull any head piece off. Anna May Wong. The first Asian movie star. Wow! That's Dior, that's John's (Galliano). Hudson: I want to wear that in my bedroom. So good to see you. Thank you for your flowers. How's business? - This was my dress, that one. - Wow. It's the white one. It was a wedding dress. That must be an old one. 1925, something like that... - 1924. - 1924, even earlier, yeah. In 1925, it was smaller. Not so big volume as there, but it was short already. You're so smart. History, I know it. - The history of fashion. - Wow! (inaudible) That is Alexander McQueen. They do a lot of work in wood. That is also McQueen, the bolero. That could be McQueen, I'm not sure. It's Alexander McQueen, for Givenchy. It's nice mix with all these things from China. It's beautiful. I love the Chinese inspiration. Wow! Man: What's the dress? Did you get my message? Justin Bieber: How do you think that would look on me? - Alicia Keys: Wow! - Gaultier: Voil, that's mine. Man: Wow, this exhibit... Your mood changes from room to room. It's remarkable. Keys: Wow! Gaultier: Oh, the porcelain. Keys: Wow, look at this! Gaultier: That's Galliano for Dior, I think, no? Keys: Guo Pei.... - So gorgeous! - Oh, my God! Oh, my God! This room is a dream! All the celadon but with the black lacquer. And look at these shapes. Like when people say, "You couldn't walk in it." Who cares? It's that beautiful. Kate Hudson: I know! (indistinct shouting) (Nat King Cole "Stardust" plays) Talley: Oh, I love a girl from humble beginnings who becomes a big star. It's like the American Dream, that's how you do it. And just keep going with it. I want more train and more train! I want drama! I want five people picking up my thing! This is the black Frozen! This is the queen of the night! (Nat King Cole "Stardust" continues) Queen of the night. Breaking up is not enough, it's not enough. - Beautiful! - Thank you. This moment, this fantasy! It was made by Guo Pei. It took two years to make this. And let me just say... You are wearing it so beautifully. You are so inspiring... - Thank you. - ...to so many people. - Good night. - Vocal rest. Big night! Can't wait to see you on stage! - Thank you. - Oh, it's got a pink lining. Did you get the pink lining? (Nat King Cole "Stardust" continues) I need to mainline pinot grigio to my arm. Have a Scotch. Scotch in a glass? How classy. Oh my God, I'm gonna be all by my lonesome just like high school. You can sit with us, sit with us if you want. - Oh, my God! - Oh, my God! (gong sounds) Campbell: Could I have your attention for a moment, please? The true star of this evening is Andrew Bolton. (cheering and applause) Hello. Bill Cunningham: Hello Andrew, it's quite the success. Hey! Thank you, Bill. It's such a contemplative space, it's very... - Brilliant. - Quiet. When I think how they allowed this... Poor Mrs. Vreeland. They killed her with exhibition, keeping it downstairs. The Asian Art Department has been incredibly generous with us. They have, yeah. Twenty years late. What's up, Met Ball? (cheering) Isn't it amazing how fashion can bring two cultures together? (cheering and applause) I wanna give a round of applause to everybody here tonight. Anna Wintour, thank you so much for having me. Everybody ready to party? (sings "Bitch Better Have My Money") (applause fades out) ("Wild is the Wind" by Cat Power plays) "Are you both there? I'll be around 6:45, Do I need to pick anything up? I'm gonna say..." - Starbucks. - "Yes. Big box of Starbucks." Everybody looks shockingly good this year. Yeah, Chloe Sevigny looked amazing. - Spike Lee, he looks great! - I know. You gonna just die over what Rihanna wore. Martin Hoops: I can't wait to see it. - Oh, my God. - Boom! That is excellent! It's like a Disney movie. Every single one of them. Boom. Yeah, she should be the cover. Yes. Look at her body guard. Where? This guy? He's brilliant. He's holding her purse! I would hold her purse, too. I would hold it all night. Malle: Oh, my God! Hoops: Do you see any resemblance, David, between me and Clooney? So he went bow tie-less. That's what studs like this do, David. Me and George, we know what we're doing. Malle: That's cool. Actually that is good. Hoops: This is good. Now you got her in a gothic room, medieval gothic. Ecclesiastical... (indistinct) Am I being banned? Go back to your room. - Getting close. - Go back to my room! - We'll do this. - Malle: That's nice. - Spread. - Right. - And then the last two. - Great. Hoops: I think it actually looks really good. Malle: Yeah, I do too. I will bet everybody lunch here, that when I lay out that pomegranate, she's gonna say, "Oh, this is nice." Yeah. Okay, Martin, let's do this. The pomegranates... just perfect. - Martin loves pomegranates. - Yeah. Me and AW have a similar wavelength in our brains. She goes, you know, "Big stars like Derek Jeter." I said Jeter! I'm like, of course, he's the captain! I said he should get a cover line. The captain? I think that's almost on the same par... I told you, me and Anna have same brain, the same brain. Cher, Derek Jeter. I mean, you gotta sell this thing. This is not a niche magazine, you know. We gotta get the names on there! They said they're gonna film the Met, but it's not about the Met, it's about this, right here. This is going to be the whole documentary. That's it. Done. |
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