Impossible Conversations

Attendance at the Schiaparelli and Prada Met Exhibit
Prada

How Many People Saw the Met's Schiaparelli and Prada Exhibit?

Despite its glamorous and well-attended welcome party, the Metropolitan Museum's Impossible Conversations: Schiaparelli and Prada exhibit pulled in 339,838 total visitors — just over half the number of people who came to see Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty last year.
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Despite its glamorous and well-attended welcome party, the Metropolitan Museum's Impossible Conversations: Schiaparelli and Prada exhibit pulled in 339,838 total visitors — just over half the number of people who came to see Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty last year.

While the McQueen exhibit — which set a Costume Institute record for attendance with 661,509 visitors — would have been a tough act to follow for any museum show, Impossible Conversations still didn't do as well as some past shows. The New York Times notes, for example, that the Met's 2001 show about Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis drew 559,902 visitors, and the 2005 Chanel exhibit drew 463,600.

It may not have the numbers on its side, the Schiaparelli and Prada exhibit does have one edge on other Costume Institute shows of the past: it inspired the comeback of an entire fashion brand. Schiaparelli is expected to relaunch with accessories, fragrances, cosmetics, and some clothing in February 2013.

Anna Wintour Colbert Report Video 2012
Anna Wintour

Watch: Anna Wintour's Quick-Witted Turn on The Colbert Report

Anna Wintour kept the audience on The Colbert Report rolling in the aisles last night when she sat down to talk about the Costume Institute's new exhibit.
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Anna Wintour kept the audience on The Colbert Report rolling in the aisles last night when she sat down to talk about the Costume Institute's new exhibit. When Wintour started lauding Miuccia Prada's work, host Stephen Colbert joked that he doesn't "really trust Prada. My understanding is, the devil wears Prada. And this is a Christian nation, Anna," he said.

To which Wintour could only reply, "That movie was so last year." Watch all of the hilarity below.

Met Gala 2012 Afterparty Pictures
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The Chicest Looks from the Met Gala Afterparty

There wasn't a red carpet at the Met Gala's official afterparty, but its attendees looked just as glamorous as they did heading up the steps at the ball.
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Met Gala 2012 Afterparty Pictures

There wasn't a red carpet at the Met Gala's official afterparty, but its attendees looked just as glamorous as they did heading up the steps at the ball.

Miuccia Prada and Anna Wintour hosted a crowd including Kate Bosworth and Marc Jacobs at the Harry F. Sinclair House Monday night. Prada was seen walking around the fete hand in hand with her husband Patrizio Bertelli and tapped her feet to performances by Alicia Keys and Azealia Banks. Wintour changed from her white Prada gown to a black cocktail dress for the afterparty, and Karlie Kloss exchanged her floor-length Jason Wu creation for a shorter dress by the designer.

There were also afterparties at the restaurant Crown and the Boom Boom Room at the Standard Hotel. A glimpse at the Sinclair House festivities follows in the gallery.

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Met Gala Red Carpet Pictures and Interviews 2012
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InstaGlam: Our Favorite Snaps From the Met Gala Red Carpet

>> The annual Costume Institute Gala's red carpet is an infamous frenzy of fashion and flashbulbs — and we were right there to capture it all.
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Met Gala Red Carpet Pictures and Interviews 2012

>> The annual Costume Institute Gala's red carpet is an infamous frenzy of fashion and flashbulbs — and we were right there to capture it all. From Anna to Miuccia, Calvin to Valentino, the grand steps of the Met were jam-packed with some of the industry's most favorite faces — not to mention some of Hollywood's favorite stars. "It's always a fun night, you know? Everyone is dressed up and looks beautiful," explained Caroline Trentini, who was dressed in a denim gown designed by date Olivier Theyskens. Ginnifer Goodwin, who wore a custom Monique Lhuillier gown, shared the sentiment: "I'm excited to see so many old friends. I know that I've got a lot of buddies inside. That's what I'm most excited about," the actress said.

"It's hugely special! What could be more important than the Costume Institute Gala? It feels like the Oscars," a Schiaparelli-pink-haired Chris Benz explained before whisking date Julie Macklowe — also sporting fuchsia locks — through the doors of the museum.

"I think it's more fun than the Oscars!" director Baz Luhrmann — who made a series of films for the exhibit — disagreed. "Just because there are no awards. There's no stress. All I have to do is eat a little something, drink a little something, and watch Bruno Mars rock the house. That can't be too hard, you know."

More red-carpet chats — and our Instagram snaps — right here, in the gallery.

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Met Gala Red Carpet Fashion Pictures 2012
Red Carpet

Impossible Glamour: Fashion's Finest at the 2012 Met Gala

Monday night was the industry's biggest, most glamorous party, and each look that came up the steps for the Met Gala was more stunning than the last.
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Met Gala Red Carpet Fashion Pictures 2012

Monday night was the industry's biggest, most glamorous party, and each look that came up the steps for the Met Gala was more stunning than the last.

Anna Wintour arrived first, clad in a Prada update of Elsa Schiaparelli's famous lobster dress — the first time she hasn't worn Chanel to a Met Gala in six years — followed shortly by Miuccia Prada herself, wearing a shirt and pants of her own design.

But even though Monday's gala honored Prada's work, other fashion houses turned out lots of good looks. Scarlett Johansson wore custom Dolce & Gabbana, Jessica Stam stunned in Dior, and Lauren Santo Domingo slid into Oscar de la Renta. A list of who wore what sits here, but pictures of all the best looks can be found in the gallery.

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Schiaparelli and Prada Met 2012 Exhibit Pictures
met gala

Inside the Costume Institute's Schiaparelli and Prada Exhibit

Let's talk about fashion: that's the premise of this year's Costume Institute exhibit, titled Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations.
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Schiaparelli and Prada Met 2012 Exhibit Pictures

Let's talk about fashion: that's the premise of this year's Costume Institute exhibit, titled Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations.

Through a series of videos directed by Baz Luhrmann, the exhibit — which was inspired by a series of Vanity Fair articles from the '30s — imagines Miuccia Prada and the late Elsa Schiaparelli (played by Australian actress Judy Davis) discussing their respective approaches to dressing women. Against this backdrop are clothing and accessories from each designer, arranged almost as if in conversation, too: In one gallery called "Waist Up, Waist Down," Prada's skirts are shown next to Schiaparelli's jackets. "To me the waist up is more spiritual, more intellectual, while the waist down is more basic, more grounded," Prada says in the coordinating video. "It's about sex. It's about making love. It's about life. It's about giving birth."

Other conversations include themes like "Hard Chic," which looks at the influence of menswear and military uniforms, and "The Surreal Body," which examines pieces like Schiaparelli's famous lobster dress and Prada's Fall 2011 skirts and shirts that are covered in large sequins resembling fish scales.

Prada told The New York Times that while she's never directly been inspired by Schiaparelli, she now understands "there actually were some similarities. But it is other people's vision."

Fashion's biggest names will get a first look at the exhibit tonight during the Met Gala, and the exhibit itself will open to the public on May 10 and close Aug. 19. For now, a sneak peek at the exhibit in the gallery.

Photo: A view of the exhibit.

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Azealia Banks to Perform at Met Gala 2012
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Azealia Banks to Perform at Met Gala Wearing Custom Alexander Wang

Azealia Banks announced today that she'll be performing at this year's Met Gala on May 7, and she'll walk the ball's red carpet on the arm of Alexander Wang.
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Azealia Banks announced today that she'll be performing at this year's Met Gala on May 7, and she'll walk the ball's red carpet on the arm of Alexander Wang.

Banks made the announcement via Twitter Monday, writing, "I've Been invited to Perform for PRADA next week in NYC! Gonna b so lush !! Let's see what new songs I debut there!#metball2012." Last Friday, Banks tweeted, "I can't wait for the MET ball! I'm going as Alexander Wang's date. He custom made my outfit and shoes ! !!!! It's soooo hot !" Both tweets have since been removed from her Twitter profile.

That Banks was tapped to perform at the gala shouldn't be surprising. Since her self-released music video for her single "212" debuted in September, Banks has performed for Karl Lagerfeld and Nicola Formichetti. She's also appeared in Elle's April 2012 feature on women in music.

Banks joins a short list of high-profile women who will accompany designers to the annual gala, which takes place next Monday. Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez of Proenza Schouler will be taking Australian actress Isabel Lucas, and Joseph Altuzarra will dress singer Lana Del Rey.

This year's Met Gala celebrates the Costume Institute's exhibit Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations. The exhibit opens to the public on May 8.

Photo: Azealia Banks performing at Coachella earlier this month.

Proenza Schouler Picks Met Gala Date
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Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez Reveal Date For Met Gala

>> Proenza Schouler designers Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez have decided which high-profile woman they're taking to this year's Costume Institute Gala.
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>> Proenza Schouler designers Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez have decided which high-profile woman they're taking to this year's Costume Institute Gala.

McCollough and Hernandez will be taking Australian ingenue Isabel Lucas, who attended last year's gala as a guest of Louis Vuitton. Lucas's star shines bright in the land Down Under, and it's been getting brighter in the United States since she starred in 2009's Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Since then she's also been tapped for Steven Spielberg's miniseries The Pacific and played the role of Athena in last year's Immortals.

The only other designer whose date has been revealed is Joseph Altuzarra, who will be dressing and escorting singer Lana Del Rey. She recently appeared on the covers of British Vogue and French Glamour. This will be her first time at a Met Gala.

Last year, Altuzarra walked the red carpet with Arizona Muse, while Lazaro and Hernandez took Kristen Stewart.

Photo: Isabel Lucas in Louis Vuitton at last year's Met Gala.