14 DAY TRIAL // The annual Costume Institute Gala at the Metropolitan Museum Of Art in New York, which took place the other night, is labeled the “Oscars of fashion” and is supposed to be a ceremony that usurps all other celebrity events out there in terms of red carpet glitziness and style. As Madonna, Victoria Beckham, Kate Moss and many other female stars have shown, though, fashion critics say, the Costume ball is not without its disastrous hit-and-misses.
The theme of this year’s ball was “the model as muse,” and was seen as a celebration of the fashion industry as a whole or, as several fashion publications have pointed out, turning the focus back on fashion’s own fabulousness. Still, there was nothing fabulous about the aforementioned stars, industry insiders believe, who walked the red carpet looking as if they had gotten dressed in the dark. Madonna, for starters, seemed to have thought that the whole “fabulousness of fashion” thing was just a joke, or, at least, that’s what Liz Jones of the Daily Mail seems to believe. As it happens, she’s not the only one to burst into laughter at the choice of outfit of the Queen of Pop.
“Madonna wasn’t much better – she looked as if she had dressed up for a bet.” Jones says, pointing to the singer’s exposed bra, huge fabric bow in her hair and lace gloves. The entire outfit, matched with Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton thigh-high boots, was seen as “ghastly and undignified,” especially since the star herself seemed completely oblivious to the fact that this was, in the end, a ceremony meant to celebrate fashion and not mock it.
Whereas Madonna is harshly criticized for mocking the ceremony, Victoria Beckham, on the other hand, is attacked for trying too hard. As a rule, fashion critics say, Posh always looks stunning but that’s not necessarily because she has an innate fashion sense, but rather because she has found a style that works wonders for her and she sticks with it, save for some minor variations. At this year’s Costume ball, she seems to have fallen a victim to her lack of personality in terms of the ways of fashion, insiders believe.
“Victoria Beckham, also in Marc Jacobs, was a close runner-up [to the title of worst dressed]. The problem with Victoria is she has no taste and zero confidence. She sees a label and thinks: ‘Ooh, he’s my friend - we ‘mwah mwahed’ once. I’m bound to look stunning!’ This polka dot wrap-dress with cape by her ‘friend’ Marc Jacobs renders Victoria Beckham ridiculous – she looks like a napkin. The shoes, by Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton, are ugly, too.” Jones says for the same publication.
As for Kate Moss, this is where things really got ugly: being such a famous supermodel who hardly does anything wrong when it comes to picking out outfits, she was supposed to be the belle of the ball, they say. Instead, she came off looking like a piece of chicken roast, tightly wrapped in tin foil and with plastered-on makeup, industry watchers say. The fact that she was dangling on the arm of famed designer Marc Jacobs only made matters worse, because it made one of the most powerful couples in the industry look cheap, tacky and completely uninspired.
“My worst-dressed award of the night, though, goes to Kate Moss, who normally cannot put a foot wrong. Is she worried about radiation? The silver toga by Marc Jacobs was unflattering to say the least. Bit of a turkey: Kate Moss – what is she? An over-ready chicken? Why the tin foil and plastered-on make-up? This disastrous outfit by Marc Jacobs even gives her a pot belly.” Liz Jones explains for the aforementioned publication.
