The first Monday in May marks one of the most exclusive fashion events of the year — the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s (MET) Gala. The official dress code? “The Garden of Time,” inspired by The Costume Institute’s spring exhibition — “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion” — which features 250 rare items from 400 years of fashion.
But some of these older, rare garments cannot be worn again due to their fragility, lacking the luster and life they once embodied. This year’s naturistic theme points to the idea of rebirth and renewal, and that will also be reflected in the presentation, as the exhibit marries a traditional theater technique with modern technology, breathing new life into the costumes. This is the first-time visitors will see technology being used in this fashion at the gala, providing a once-in-a-lifetime experience for audiences.
Some selected costumes — too delicate to even stand upright on a mannequin — will be placed in Sleeping Beauty-esque glass “coffins.” But as Robert Klock, a graduate student in the Department of Computer Sciences with a focus on machine learning states, “Clothes are meant to be worn.”
And some clothes will be worn — by technologically created ghosts. Using a technique traditionally used in the theater called Pepper’s ghost, they will be revived. The sheets of glass manipulate beams of projected light, creating the illusion of a three-dimensional “ghost” standing in front of your eyes. One “hobble skirt” evening dress will transform its wearer from a woman to an insect. Artist Georges Goursat criticized this restrictive style, stating its wearers looked like “distorted insects” with their “hunched posture and limited stride.”
“There’s the tension when clothes get really old — we can’t wear them anymore or they will be destroyed,” says Klock. “The impact of technology is they’ll be able to render these images of the garments as if they were on a human body without sacrificing the safety or construction of the garment itself.”
In the 1800s, John Henry Pepper debuted this technique, launching a wave of plays featuring light-generated “ghosts.” More recently, in 2012, the late rapper Tupac Shakur made a Coachella appearance 16 years after his death using this technique. Disney World rides, including the Haunted Mansion, also feature Pepper’s ghost technique.
“Using something like a Pepper’s ghost bridges the past and present by allowing the audience to engage with fashion in a manner similar to how viewers might have in the era of the garments — like watching a play that uses a Pepper’s ghost effect,” says Klock. “By using historic technology, the Met Gala not only connects us more directly to the time period of the clothing but also highlights the timeless influence that technology has had on fashion.”
Another one of the intriguing aspects of this year’s exhibit is the transformation of the gallery rooms. Met goers will be immersed in the designs of the costumes as they enter the spaces. In one room, the floor will be covered with a projection of slithering snakes to mimic the snake-framed neckline of a sequined dress from the 20th century. Another room’s ceiling will be covered in a throng of black birds that tell the story of a black tulle dress by Madeleine Vionnet through projection-mapping. The walls of another will be molded and carved with the intricate designs that mimic the embroidery of an Elizabethan bodice.
“By touching the wall, a viewer could imagine what the garment itself might feel like,” says Klock. “By seeing a projection of snakes on the floor, one could imagine the glimmering effect of the dress’ sequins as the wearer moves around the room.”
These technical tricks open up the possibility that the exhibit could come to a city like Madison one day … well, at least virtually. Or this combination of technologies could be used outside of this capacity as a new way to experience art. Although other museums, like the Art Institute of Chicago, have used technology such as light projection to show the underpainting layers of an impressionist painting, this exhibit will take it to the next level.
“This [technology] allows for new ways to experience fragile or damaged objects,” says Klock. “Perhaps a painting that was damaged past the point of typical recognition could benefit from the techniques used at the Gala. It could be used to explore other facets of art.”