What is the Met Gala and why is it so important to the Fashion and Cosmetic Industries? Well for starters, the Met Gala was formally known as the Costume Institute Gala which is a fundraising event that occurs annually to raise money to benefit the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume center. The MET is a famous landmark in the heart of New York City. Are you a Gossip Girl fan? If so, you are very familiar with the steps leading up to the ever famous MET. Anyway, the MET Gala represents the opening of the new annual fashion exhibit that will be on display inside the museum. With all this great culture, fashion and craft emerges some serious trends for the rest of the world to dwell on. When celebrities step on the red carpet for the event, they are setting the tone and the trends we will follow for the year to come.
2016’s red carpet was filled with so many celebrities dressed to perfection. This year the theme of the event was Fashion in an Age of Technology. How appropriate? Considering we live in a world solely based on the internet sensations and social media, I found the theme to be right on point. The trends were outrageous as many celebrities dressed to fit the Fashion in an Age of Technology theme.
One obvious and very gorgeous trend was the color silver. Silver complimented the theme very well as it represented technology. Many celebrities were channeling their inner robots or futuristic styles. Kim Kardashian, husband Kanye West and sister Kylie Jenner all stepped out in Balmain. Kim called her look the “blingy sexy robot”, while Kanye wore a gorgeous custom mirrored blazer. Kylie wore a custom studded gown that fit to perfection and also showed some skin. Cindy Crawford also supported Balmain in a skin tight liquid silver gown. Taylor Swift took edge to the red carpet with a short dress, all silver, and what looks like an animal skin patterned dress by Louis Vuitton. Lady Gaga gave a more vintage, yet still very fashion forward look in her Aterlier Versace outfit with silver beaded bolero. Naomi Watts wore a completely silver number by Fred Leighton with the incorporation of poppy flowers to give it a sweet look. Olivia Wilde sported an all metal choker with her Michael Kors Collection silver studded gown. Metallic silver, mirrored details and metal details made a huge debut as well. Alessandro Michele and Florence Welch, both in Gucci wore metallic silver outfits. Alessandro Michele’s entire suit glistened. We saw metal detail in menswear, it was featured on Zayn Malik custom Versace suit and as mentioned before Kanye West Balmain blazer. Silver, silver and more silver!
Besides silver, we also saw a lot of the color black on the runway. High fashion always seems to take black as its mascot color which is very typical at prestigious gala’s like the MET Gala. All of the gowns had a slight flare to them that made them stand out. Nicole Kidman wore a gorgeous silver studded black gown by Alexander McQueen. Emma Watson wore a Calvin Klein Collection with a little touch of white on the bust. Bella Hadid stunned us in her Givenchy Haute Couture gown with the long ruffle train. Her boyfriend The Weekend matched her in an all-black, sleek Givenchy suit. Madonna also wore Givenchy Haute Couture and added some really authentic jewelry and a headpiece to give her look uniqueness. Kristen Stewart channeled a little edginess on the runway in her Channel dress that featured a leather crisscross detailed that showed a little bit of skin. We can’t forget Katy Perry in her jaw dropping Prada gown and fierce goth makeup. In menswear we also so all black ensembles. One that sticks out is Odell Beckham, Jr. in Calvin Klein Collection.
Of course with these high-end fashion events comes risk takers and some serious pops of color. Dakota Johnson wore a Gucci gown with oversized multicolored stars. Ivanka Trump wore a classic Ralph Lauren Collection bright red gown that complimented her bright red lip. Miranda Kerr wore a Louis Vuitton dress that was paneled in gem-tones as well as a paisley pattern at the bottom. Rachel McAdams wore a gold Valentino Haute Couture gown with a deep plum lip that made her look a little goth, but definitely elegant. Sarah Jessica Parker in Monse Designer and Amandla Steinberg in Calvin Klein Collection stepped out in gorgeous tailored suits that definitely turned heads. How about Solange Knowles in that lemonade colored outfit?! And speaking of Lemonade how about Beyoncé’s nude colored latex gown by Givenchy. Claire Danes lit up the runway, literally, in her powder blue Zac Posen ball gown trimmed with fiber optic lights. Lastly, and a personal favorite of mine was Blake Lively Burberry pastel pink gown.
SO what does all this amazing fashion gossip mean for us in the cosmetic industry? The fashion/cosmetic industry is based on the trickledown effect. Whatever is featured on the runway will turn into the next trend in cosmetics. Looking forward to next year, trend and forecasting sites are showing how powerful the runways are influencing the cosmetic industry. For starters the very cold, ice, metallic look will be huge in nail, eyeshadows and even lipstick and hair. We saw Ciara on the runway with silver waves and accented with very visible silver bobby-pins. My favorite metal look was on Rita Ora with her mirror tattoo detail in her hair! Kristen Stewart gave us a fun futuristic feel with the silver eye makeup. Trend sites are calling it the “cold front” for the very icy looks predicted to flourish. Braids are following us from last year and making a big statement in 2017 as well. However, these braid details are being called “power braids” because they are such unique details. Madonna, Zoe Saldana, Emma Roberts, and FKA Twigs all rocked the braids and did a fantastic job at that. “Liquid” slicked back hair was also a huge hit. Demi Lavato, Kim Kardashian and Zendaya all fostered this look and it was amazing. Emphasis on eyebrows was also huge and will be in the year ahead. We saw Kim Kardashians and Lilly Aldridge with incredible bleached brows and mauve lips. Trends are predicting adding some funky colors like cobalt and lavender to really make your brows pop. Blood red and vampy looks were also shown often. We see the blood red on Taylor Swift paired with her bleach blonde hair for a super edgy look as well as Hailee Steinfeld AND Rachel McAdams. Besides all the crazy trends, there was also a lot of simply elegant makeup which will be present in 2017 with a twist. Subtler powder “au natural” looks will be present. The exciting colors we saw on the runway will merge their way to cosmetics in 2017 with extensive unusual pops of color. Navy and emerald lips will take storm in 2017. Don’t worry, for all you vamp lovers, eastern gothic makeup will advance on into next year (meaning gothic style makeup of heavy and rich color, with an eastern twist. For example, spice colors, warm and vibrant colors will be present). There will also be a retro perspective look coming forward for 2017, mixing complimentary colors to create looks that will truly stand out, as the pops of color did on the MET Gala runway.
Cosmetics is such an amazing field that incorporates all aspects of the world. The direct correlation between the MET Gala and the upcoming trends is so fascinating. These trends can be incorporated in so many different ways and changed to your personal style. Its really important to keep up with the shows, events and runways to see what will be coming up in your industry for the years ahead. If you love make up and are looking to learn more about it head to www.nyib.edu and check out our Beauty Essentials class!
