A Review of "In America: A Lexicon of Fashion"

In America: A Lexicon of Fashion

Broderick, Mira. “Myself in front of the exhibit.” The Met

Over the weekend, I traveled to New York City to visit my best friend for her 21st birthday. One place she was dying to go to was The Metropolitan Museum of Art to see the costume collection “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion.” I was completely on board with this idea since we both share the same love for fashion. On Friday October 15, 2021, we took a 45 minute walk from our hotel to The MET to see the iconic fashion collection.

Room One 

This collection included famous American-born fashion designers such as Vera Wang, Rodarte, Louis Vuitton, Ralph Lauren, Diane Von Furstenberg, Calvin Klein, Micheal Kors, and more. Each exhibit represents a design concept that changed the world of fashion. When I walked into the exhibit, the first thing I noticed was that the  room had 16 huge, white glowing cubes with a mannequin inside each one. Each cube was assigned a designer, their best designed outfit, and a word to symbolize the impact they made on American fashion. The mannequins had a word-bubble headpiece attached to their head and the words defined what exactly American Fashion is: nostalgia, belonging, fluency, delight, joy.

The photo below is an example of what each cube looked like, and this one in particular was in the first room of the exhibit. In the photo, the dress was designed by Prabal Gurung who is an American-born fashion designer, and the word above the mannequin’s head was ‘belonging.’ His spring/summer 2020 collection asked the question: who gets to be an American? Who gets to belong?  

                             

Broderick, Mira. “Prabal Gurung 2020 spring/summer collection.” The Met

Room Two 

To get to the other rooms, there was a staircase that led to two more rooms with a line up of cubes, with each featuring a different designer and their best looks. My friends and I spent over an hour looking at each design. Of course, one of my favorites was Roy Halston’s simple but elegant Ultrasuede dress. The word assigned to him was ‘fluency.’ I am not sure if I am drawn to his dresses because I have learned everything about his past or because his thought process to create the Ultrasuede collection is incredible. All I know is that now everytime I see a reference to Roy Halston or a dress that looks like his design, I cannot draw my eyes away. I just know that in the 1980s, I would 100% have worn his clothing, and I would have totally found a way to become rich and famous to afford his clothing because I am in love with the collections he came up with during his lifetime. Another favorite of mine was Rodarte's blue ruffled dress from their fall 2019 collection and the word was ‘ebullience.’ Kate and Laura Mulleavy, the Rodarte sisters, design clothes in a sweet and quirky way. 

                                                  

                                                    

                                                                            Broderic, Mira. “Myself in front Halston Ultrasuede dress.” The Met       

        

The Perfect Display of Costumes

Seeing the “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion” collection at The Met was something I am going to cherish forever. Right when I walked into the collection, my jaw dropped and the first room took my breath away. I had no idea what to expect before walking in and this exhibit exceeded my unexpected expectations. This collection was incredible and the designers of the exhibit presented the looks in a creative way. I thought the word-bubbles were a unique touch and each word, design, and creator matched perfectly. I made a comment to my friend while in the exhibit saying how it would be amazing to design an exhibit that is going to inspire younger generations to appreciate fashion and to make their own impact through the world of clothes.