Punk is going on display at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art!
The show is curated by Andrew Bolton of the Costume Institute and celebrates the looks inspired by the Sex Pistols, the Ramones, the Clash and their fans. In that spirit, the exhibits unveiling on May 9th, will examine punk's impact on high fashion from the movement's birth in the early 1970s through its continuing influence today.
This comes on the heels of recent exhibits honoring highly dignified designers such as Miucca Prada and Elsa Schiaparelli. Not this time! Get the safety-pinned fashions out of the dark hiding places of your fashion-past! 'Met' visitors will experience extreme punk fashions worn by musicians and fans as well as, the high-end wild fashions they've inspired. From looks raw to refined, over 100 pieces will be on display, including items from designers Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel, Dior, Stephen Sprouse, John Galliano, Nicolas Ghesquiere for Balenciaga, Rei Kawakubo, Riccardo Tisci for Givenchy, Vivienne Westwood and Alexander McQueen. (Wait?... What?... No Jean Paul Gaultier?... hmmm, I guess we'll just have to wait and see on May 9th...)
Presented as an immersive multimedia, multisensory experience, the clothes will be animated with period music videos and soundscaping audio techniques. Focusing on the relationship between the punk concept of "do-it-yourself" and the couture concept of "made-to-measure," the galleries will be organized around the materials, techniques, and embellishments associated with the anti-establishment style. Themes will include New York and London, which will tell of punk's origin as a tale of two cities, followed by Clothes for Heroes and four manifestations of the D.I.Y. aesthetic—Hardware, Bricolage, Graffiti and Agitprop, and Destroy.
I'm excited to see this!
