Comme what may

MANILA, Philippines - The first Monday in May signals the arrival of the Met Gala. Arguably, the most-watched fashion event of the year — the Oscars of the fashion world with a highly vetted by-invite-only guest list curated by Anna Wintour herself — for the 2017 edition, the Gala honors legendary Japanese designer Rei Kawakubo by paying tribute to the Costume Institute’s upcoming exhibition “Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between.” 

A designer whose métier defined and continues to redefine what it means to be avant-garde in fashion, what it means to break away from sartorial standards of dress, what it means to reconfigure our ideas of beauty — Comme des Garçons, simply put, champions the unconventional. 

Unconventional — the outrageous, the misshapen, the reimagined. Was it fair for us to expect weird things on the red carpet? Frocks that would break new ground and push the boundaries of red carpet fashion as we know it? If the 150-foot-long Met steps aren’t the perfect opportunity for an A-list celebrity to take a few sartorial risks, then we’re doomed to corporate sponsored outfits forever (not that there was any short supply of these at the Met steps last Monday, but we digress). 

Given the weight of Rei Kawakubo’s legacy, her long-standing influence on fashion and the simple prompt of “avant-garde,” who stayed true and who strayed far (in this case, far, far away)? Who did their homework? 

Many of the Met Gala’s usual suspects missed the mark entirely. Anna Wintour gave no visible nod to the theme in her gown, but it’s her party anyway and she looked resplendent in her go-to Chanel; the Kardashian-Jenners were not against type in ornate Versace for Kylie and a “naked” swath of a La Perla dress on Kendall; only Kim took some derivation from CdG by way of a muted Vivienne Westwood dress in pale white. Everybody else interpreted the theme as a mandate to wear Comme red (one of Kawakubo’s limited alternatives to midnight black, a nod to her “Roses and Blood” collection from 2014). Our verdict? Totally boring. 

Not all was lost, however, as former United States ambassador to Japan kicked up the evening in a cut-up sphere of florals from Comme des Garçons; actress Tracee Ellis Ross swaddled in a blue brocade coat dress that evinced new propositions for proportion; and of course, the queen who rules the Met Gala carpet, Rihanna in a cut-up confection from Comme’s fall/winter 2016 collection.

From Solange in a CdG-esque homage in Thom Browne to Claire Danes in a ruffled Monse, we applaud those who chose to wear things differently. YStyle does a rundown of our favorite looks from the red carpet. 

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The Metropolitan Costume Institute’s “Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between” opens May 4 in New York.