Met Costume Institute Gala 2016

The theme for this year's Met Costume Institute Gala celebrated two pivotal movements within the fashion industry at the moment, the combination of fashion and design in the age of technology 'Manus X Machina'. 

This wasn't just futurism through colour, shape and proportion, this was looking more at the finer side of the craft of fashion and seeing how technology has influenced the techniques used by fashion powerhouses, whether it be hand-made or machine-made. Take Chanel's Lesage, a group of the best couture embroiderers who produce the most intricate and beautiful hand-worked details used in the house's haute couture collections; like the golden Guipure lace train of one of the house's most formidable bridal gowns, featured in the exhibition. 

You, my dear readership, are probably still questioning the theme. A theme which has provoked an array of pertinent albeit poignantly desirable set of looks. Think leather, chains, metallic and plenty of extra-terrestrial fabrics, not forgetting the emphasis on obliques. However, which A-lister will come out tops and which will fall to the ground a victim of a digital fashion disaster? 

Firstly, I'd like to dedicate this moment to Beyoncé (aka God), my one true love.
Bey, you have given me a new lease of life with Lemonade and now you've added even more heavenly goodness with this dress too. Here, Queen B looked reckless in her Givenchy dress, naturally. She chose a shrimp pink latex gown with Victorian puffed sleeves and added pearl embellishments. I have no words to describe how sumptuous she looks. However, one thing is for sure, she's one of the best dressed and we all know that! 10/10!

Moving on to Kim and Kanye (Kimye). I am blinded by the sheer amount of metallic I see before me. This is a lot to take in, even for me, lest you worry, we will get to the mess which is Kanye in a minute. I applaud Kim for embracing the theme 110%, although I do feel that this gown looks rather rigid on her petite frame, also I did not like the neck-line she chose either. She's well suited to the plunging or strapless neck-line rather than a simple scoop, it just looks rather unflattering. Her makeup look, on the other hand, certainly makes up for the neck-line. I just adore her bleached eyebrows and wet, slick-back hair. Sheer lusciousness. 9.7/10

Kanye on the other hand, uh oh. Is that double denim, do you mumble with the greatest uproar? Unfortunately, you are correct. He has chosen to wear denim to a black-tie event. Now, I am not sure about you but I consider this to be a social sin, and frankly unforgivable. Also those suede cowboy boots, come on darling, throw those in the skip. Oddly I find myself being conned by his attractive stare due to those icy blue contact lenses, how perplexing. 4.4/10

On the topic of Balmain, we have Kylie Jenner. (Hands down my best dressed of the night, even beating Beyoncé and that's extremely difficult to do!) She wore a custom Balmain gown encrusted in Swarovski crystals and it was, without a doubt, one the most beautiful gowns that Olivier Rousteing has ever produced. The attention to detail is devastatingly ravishing. To me, she mirrored a decadent tassel one would find at the palace of Versailles. 10/10!

As we all know, Madonna is never afraid to wear something risqué out in public. Did she pull it off this time around? NO.
She wore a custom Givenchy ensemble comprising: black lace tights and a body, with straps of black material which wound around her legs and arms resembling kinesiology sport muscle tape. She might be wearing a floor-length skirt, but there is fabric missing over her breasts and derriere, so the look leaves very little to the imagination, as per usual. She actually radiates an air of Courtney Love, how tragic. 5.6/10

Taylor Swift intrigues me profoundly. She seems to be going through her Goth phase aged 26. She embraced the oblique revealing trend in a metal-coated crocodile print dress from Louis Vuitton accompanied by a pair of gladiator sandals, embodying a summer sci-fi warrior. I actually quite like this look yet I think it's innapropriate for the Met Gala. When we think of the Met, we think of black-tie and long gowns. Kudos to her for taking hold of the theme and owning it. 7.9/10

I was slightly underwhelmed by Kendall Jenner's choice of attire for the evening. If we think back to last year when she wore that jade green bejewelled Calvin Klein with that cheeky bit of sideboob, she completely stole the show. However, this year she went for a sports mesh cut-out gown, cross-hatched with squares of blue glitter by Versace. I feel like the complexity of all the different elements intertwined, made it difficult to make the gown look flattering, even on Kendall. 8/10

Lily-Rose Depp. Oh how I wish I was 16 and wearing Chanel Couture. I feel like the dress itself is a bit age-innapropriate, almost as if she is 16 going on 30, which may not be a bad thing. I adore that bolero jacket, regardless. Just cast your eyes on those details, talk about eco-friendly- matchsticks, coated flowers and of course, diamonds. 8.4/10

Willow & Jaden Smith are literally the internet personified. They are just so cool that no one can knock that. Willow wore a Chanel ensemble including capri pants, which we all love, secretly and a black satin lined tweed blazer. Jaden looked sartorially swank in a Louis Vuitton two-piece. I want his jacket 8.9/10

Brie Larson, the dark horse of this year in terms of film and fashion. She chose yet another oblique-embracing gown, which actually resembles Taylor Swift's dress but longer. Brie is wearing Proenza Schouler and looks flawless. 9/10

Claire Danes perfectly married the two concepts of tech and fashion with this light-up Cinderella inspired ballgown by Zac Posen. Truly on my list of the most breath-taking gowns of the entire night, it certainly earned its spot on all the best dressed lists. 9.9/10

I feel bad because I love Demi Lovato, but I hate this dress with a passion. She unfortunately decided to sport a custom Moschino gown, which deemed severely tacky, in my opinion. The tri-tone colour palette and overhaul of texture is just too much for any sane human to handle. The theme was also not embraced, it's a no from me. 6/10

I am so glad that Emma Watson brought our attention to the ethical fashion debate. She has only just decided to start taking the stand in campaigning for the ethics in fashion and by doing so, she is now only wearing clothing which has been sourced conscientiously. With that in mind, this gown (Calvin Klein) is made up entirely from recycled plastic bottles! How incredible. She has brought that dose of modernity with the tapered trousers worn under the long skirt, combined with the elegance of the fitted bodice and off-the-shoulder sleeves. 9.9/10

Rita Ora, of course had to show some skin in a silver plated feather gown by Vera Wang. I hate to admit it, but I really am starting to gravitate towards her and her style. She's hit the nail right on the head with this one. It's the right amount of luxuriousness as well as sublimity needed for this kind of occasion. 9.8/10

Lady Gaga is the first person you would mention when talking about fashion in the age of technology. Think of Artpop, Famemonster, all those crazy outfits: the meat dress, the aluminium foil costume, the bubble dress. She does not disappoint.
This year she decided to sport something seemingly paired back for Mother Monster. A Versace ensemble including; a leotard, circuit board jacket ( yes real circuit boards from computers) and to top it all off, a pair of 9 inch booties. 9.5/10

Oh dear Katy Perry. What an absolute car crash, I look at this in horror. Her bag clips onto her dress- I have nothing to say. 2.5/10

Jourdan Dunn is potentially my favourite model of all time. She is strong, powerful. really influential and oozes beauty. For the Gala, she wore an audacious metallic Balmain gown which closely mirrored armour. Everything she wears just looks so natural and effortless on her, even the more structured nature of a highly convoluted Balmain creation can be carried with the greatest ease. 10/10

Gigi Hadid & Zayn Malik. Well, I don't know what to say about this one to be quite honest. Zayn evidently took the theme a bit too literally and executed something bordering on ridiculous. Gigi, on the other hand, disappointed me. This Tommy Hilfiger gown (who knew Tommy Hilfiger could make evening gowns?!) came across lack-lustre and a bit basic. Her $2000 chrome manicure slightly made up some ground. Even so, this is definitely not what we expect from the supermodels. 7.5/10

Karlie Kloss wore a custom gown by American designer, Brandon Maxwell.
Just look at this, breathe, and then applaud. Everything about this is pure perfection, so angelic, so captivating. Exemplified yet again is the most prominent trend of the oblique reveal. Goals 9.9/10

Bella Hadid represented the house of Givenchy in a ballooned tulle gown. She looks ethereal in head-to-toe black. I especially loved those thigh-high boots, adding a sense of youth to an already very sophisticated and mature look. 9.8/10

Selena Gomez. No, sorry, no. It is just unacceptable to wear clodhopper boots on a red-carpet, especially at the Met. What game is she playing? We get it, your spokeswoman for Louis Vuitton, however I do not agree with plucking an entire look off the runway and wearing it to a formal event, where's the imagination?! On another note, her makeup is on point. 5.7/10

We have reached the epitome of the fash disaster, yes that's right. Solange Knowles was, without a doubt, the worst dressed of the night! She wore some sort of sunshine yellow fanned chiffon monstrosity with coordinating latex leggings and Perspex shoes. I am just wondering what she thought when she tried this on, looked in the mirror and had the epiphany, 'Yes! I'm going to wear this to the Met'. One thing's for sure, she definitely let Beyoncé down. 2/10

Sarah-Jessica Parker, I am bewildered by this. Am I meant to like it or hate it?  If this outfit was on anyone else, I would have loathed it. However, on her I think this melange somehow works, anyway it is SJP afterall. Currently lusting over those turquoise Manolo Blahnik's. 7.5/10

Zoe Saldana wore a Dolce & Gabbana gown I actually liked, perhaps because it doesn't radiate sheer tackiness. Can we just take a moment to appreciate that train, how magnificent?! 9.3/10

Lastly, I conclude with the host of the evening, American Vogue's Anna Wintour. She embraced digitalism through the 3D quilted neoprene details of her floor-length Chanel gown with added tassels. I am a big fan of this. 9.7/10

Please Note: I do not own any of these images, courtesy of Vogue.co.uk, thehollywoodreporter.com and Getty

Whats The Real Problem With Primark?

Firstly, I shall pose this question to you, my dear readership - how many of you at some point in your lives have shopped at Primark or 'Premarché' as one now calls it? The answer: we all have, and that is just a well-known fact. Now let me re-phrase that same question and ask you if you purchase Primark merchandise whilst being fully aware of the conditions in which the clothing was made? Probably not.

One of the main discussion points within the fashion industry concerns its ethics. Last year’s discovery of the supposedly mysterious hand-sewn labels found on brand new Primark garments pointed to the poor conditions that the workers had been subjected to. For example, they were ‘forced to work exhausting hours’ and in ‘degrading sweat shop conditions’. There was something so loud and poignant about the messages. They exposed a real voice, a voice that is never truly heard within the fashion industry. Unfortunately, a few months later the labels were found to be fakes set up by campaigners; whether this was a hoax or not, it certainly got us all questioning our shopping sensibilities.

Prior to that, we also observed the Rana Plaza disaster in April 2013. When one of the biggest garment- producing factories in Bangladesh collapsed killing 1133 men, women and children and injuring over 2500. This was the worst tragedy to hit the garment-making industry in history. All due to the poor conditions that the factory was built in, the terribly cramped spaces in which the workers were forced to work in and the generally foul maltreatment they faced from their employers.

 

Yes, we all love Primark for its bargain prices. However, this is just another big problem with fast fashion. With the price tags being incredibly low, we are almost encouraged to buy-in-bulk this seemingly ‘great’ quality merchandise. ‘Great’ clothes until a month later when you find out that every crop-top you purchased has fallen apart due to just everyday wear. My point is that these garment factories employ people to work like slaves for hours on end without any breaks in order to produce 20,000 garments every week, including your crop-top. And after discovering that, I presume you would ordinarily throw that crop-top in the bin, again deepening yet another already grave issue – waste and the disposable society. When we throw away a piece of clothing, it does not decompose straight away, instead it gives off a gas 20% more damaging to the environment compared to CO2, solely due to the gas that contaminates the clothing when it is being made in the factories.

I do, however, understand that cheap clothes are a necessity and that high-street clothing is deliberately accessible to us all. I do think it all comes down to the lack of alternatives; don’t get me wrong, we do have an excellent array of charity shops, which offer clothes at the same price as we see in Primark. However, I feel that charity shops are not necessarily able to cater for a low-income family’s entire needs.

After the Rana Plaza collapse, there was rather a revolution in fashion. Britain, alongside the rest of the world, actually began to raise awareness of the matter; however, issues surrounding ethical fashion still remain one of the largest problems within the fashion marketplace. The question we will continue to ask is whether the big retail giants like Primark will take matters into their own hands and fully respond with a strong attitude in order to deal with humanitarian concerns that we – as consumers - need to know are being tackled.  

 

    

 

                Please note: I do not own any of these picture