Costume Institute Benefit Gala: Inside ‘China: Through the Looking Glass’

The worst fears that the Chinese theme of this year’s big Met gala Mon night, “China: Through the Looking Glass, ” would lead its famous and fabulous guests to cross the line by wearing unoriginal garb mermaid style evening dresses were thankfully not realized. There were no chopsticks in hair, at least none that we saw. The gala, overseen by Vogue’s Anna Wintour and held every first Mon of May, is widely known as the party of the year on the social appointments. Not just anyone gets invited and each year’s guest list is a good barometer of who’s in, well, style.

Each year has a theme. Guests should preferably dress accordingly. Most of the designer long sleeve evening dresses that paid respect to China Mon night did so in tasteful, sincere (some might say careful) ways, sometimes with with bold strokes, yet others with nods. Many women interpreted the theme as a licence to go sparkly. Several used dresses inspired by traditional cheongsams. There were lots of headpieces. Some women, including Kristen Wiig, in Prabal Gurung, thought i would wear yellow, a color long associated with China. Rihanna’s big – and we mean big – gown, for example, came in the hued. It was created by Chinese haute couture designer Guo Pei.

The star said clothing, which sported a long, and we mean long, stitched train, took two years to make personally. Doing red-carpet job interviews for Vogue.com, Andre Leon Talley told us Rihanna’s outfit was his favorite. “She broke the ceiling of style in the annals of red carpetry,” he effused. “Rihanna has turned the world upside down with the beautiful Guo Pei moment. And she handled it magnificently. It was an extraordinary moment.” At one point he said she brought to mind “the late great black diva Lena Horne.” But for some on social media, clothing taken to mind some other unflattering things. Her look instantly got memed, including in one instance one with the dress’s train in the form of a large garlic bread quiche. Others made more subtle statements. Lorde’s modest gown, by Calvin Klein Collection’s Francisco Costa, came in “Ming” blue. Model Karlie Kloss used jade jewelry with her dark Atelier Versace dress. “She’s a golden girl, ” said designer Michael Kors, of Kate Hudson, who supported the designer and used a custom suntan stretch-tulle open-back gown with gold hand-embroidered paillettes. Mr. Kors called it a normal Cookware garment “but with a California twist. We wanted something that felt like a first tee but with the drama of a train. ” Ms. Hudson said she felt “very comfortable” in it. When we asked Ms. Hudson how she was dealing with the rule against capturing with mobile phones inside the gala for dinner, Ms. Hudson said “Dealing? I love it! ” About that. Vogue’s spokeswoman confirmed there was no cell-phone photography allowed inside. “I didn’t know about that, ” said Claire Danes, after we informed her of the ban. Last year’s event saw social media unfolding with selfies and genuine scenes inside. “We’ll observe how observant” guests would be, she said.