thom browne presents:
the met gala all-star camp fashion revue
act one: a midsummer night’s paris couture dream
starring cardi b
styling by kollin carter
images by flo ngala
video courtesy of vogue.com
a dream, a double dream
of row upon row upon row
of satin heels, pumps, and longwing platform brogues.
floating above, angelic, shimmering, whispering, reams of tulle and silk and lace,
decadent delicacies of couture fantasies,
cardi b dressing for reverie, for beauty that comes before the beautiful fall.
purling melodies erupt as gauzy hands draw from chaos the gown of a paris camp queen,
oxblood tulle and silk organza layers and gathers, full and voluminous.
fabric that twists and waves, ruffles and cuts, molds into its own crowning monochrome glory.
but all as light as summertime air, a diaphanous mist of revelry and fantasy.
a tulle sculpture.
a fever dream, a madcap dash of divine creation,
35 heads, 70 hands, 54 celestial revolutions of the earth to forge this fantasy in tulle.
every bead placed and sewn by hand,
the queen walks and glides
in her dress made of 30,000 stitched and dyed oxblood coque feathers,
trailing behind her a oxblood train of tulle ...
dream? yes, a double dream
of warm wild nights floating on jasmine scented air,
of bodies light as planets gyrating in the summer sky.
shapes shift, bustiers keep, garters hold, trousers dangle,
as long as the dream holds too.
... don’t wake me up, please …
