Only in our wildest dreams did we think the sartorially magnificence of the Met Gala would ever come to the UK. Until now.
‘Crown to Couture’, supported by Garrard, is the newest and largest ever exhibition housed at Kensington Palace. It will explore how 18th century fashion has been emulated in some of the most glorious red carpet looks of our generation.
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Who’s outfits will we see?
The home of the Prince and Princess of Wales is the perfect place to display the most jaw-dropping outfits from fashion’s own royalty, including: the gold embellished outfit and headpiece that Beyonce wore to perform at the 2017 Grammy's; Lady Gaga’s 2020 VMA’s bright green gown with face mask by Lance V Moore and Lizzo’s Thom Browne dress from the 2022 Met Gala.. Pieces from the likes of Billy Porter, Blake Lively, Nicola Coughlan, Iris Law and Katy Perry will also be on display. Yikes.
What will the exhibition look like?
More than 200 items including glorious gowns, haute handbags and blinding bijouterie will be on display, with the King’s Gallery hosting some of the most jaw-dropping looks. The 20th century pieces will be staged side-by-side with garments from the Georgian era that are aesthetically similar and equally as exquisite.
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How does 18th century fashion relate to 2023?
“As we dug deeper, we realised the Georgian era and the contemporary 21st century – in terms of spectacle, in terms of life, in terms of how things are perceived - the red carpet and the Georgian court, there are so many connections,” Carol Swords, the creative programming manager of Historic Royal Palaces told PA news.
“We wanted to examine the 18th-century court through the lens of contemporary fashion – because there are so many similarities across the centuries.”
The process of getting ready in the 18th century has also been likened to TikTok’s famous ‘get ready with me’ videos, as upper-class women would invite others to watch them get ready. Cue the ‘GRWM Georgian style’ trend…
Each room is dedicated to a certain aspect of an extravagant evening: from getting ready to the after-party.
Will the exhibition be inclusive?
Curators have made the exhibition “as relevant as we possibly can” Swords said. “Those questions about diversity, gender, race, everything – we’ve embodied them, we’ve taken them on and we’ve taken that challenge – but we’ve tried to do it in a really sensitive way.”
Crown To Couture is at Kensington Palace from April 5 to October 29.