Why this title for the movie? The Met Gala typically takes place on the first Monday in May, ahead of the opening of the accompanying Costume Institute exhibition. This tradition is what prompted film maker Andrew Rossi to entitle his 2016 Met Gala documentary, The First Monday in May.
The documentary focuses on the creation of the 2015 art exhibition China: Through the Looking Glass by curator Andrew Bolton. The film chronicles a year’s worth of preparations for the Chinese-inspired fashion exhibit as well as the gala itself. The film also depicts Anna Wintour’s daily life and questions ‘fashion as art.’ What fascinates me is China: Through the Looking Glass is the most visited exhibit in the Costume Institute’s history and one of the most visited exhibitions in the entire history of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Why? Was it the hype behind the film. Maxwell Hearn, head of the Met’s Asian art department says, “There is also a huge influx of Chinese tourists, who want to see how China is represented in a western museum.”
Art work by Andy Warhol and a dress by Vivienne Tam are displayed as part of China Through the Looking Glass at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Photograph: Don Emmert/AFP/Getty Images
A dress by Li Xiaofeng is displayed as part of China Through the Looking Glass at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Photograph: Don Emmert/AFP/Getty Images
