Louis XIV and Oscar Wilde, meet Bjork and Lady Gaga.
What quality do they share, across the centuries? An innate sense of camp sa国际传媒� the esthetic thatsa国际传媒檚 being celebrated in the new fashion mega-exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Artsa国际传媒檚 Costume Institute, sa国际传媒淐amp: Notes on Fashion.sa国际传媒�
Think Bjorksa国际传媒檚 famous 2001 sa国际传媒渟wan dress,sa国际传媒� which is in the show, and Gagasa国际传媒檚 unforgettable 2010 raw meat dress, which isnsa国际传媒檛 (it was real meat, after all.) But lest you think camp is only artifice and theatricality, flamboyance and a desire to shock, Met curator Andrew Bolton wants you to think again.
sa国际传媒淧eople are very quick to dismiss camp as being trite, glib, frivolous,sa国际传媒� Bolton said in a weekend interview as he was putting finishing touches on the exhibit, which launches Monday evening at the star-studded Met Gala, to be co-chaired by Gaga herself, along with Serena Williams, Harry Styles, Guccisa国际传媒檚 Alessandro Michele, and of course Vogue editor Anna Wintour.
sa国际传媒淏ut it actually has a lot of history, itsa国际传媒檚 really serious, itsa国际传媒檚 political sa国际传媒� and itsa国际传媒檚 tragic too, disguised as humour,sa国际传媒� he said.
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The exhibit is built around author Susan Sontagsa国际传媒檚 1964 sa国际传媒淣otes on sa国际传媒楥amp,sa国际传媒檚a国际传媒� a 58-point essay which she dedicated to Oscar Wilde, the 19th century poet and playwright whose camp sensibility is also featured in the show. Camp sa国际传媒渋s not a natural mode of sensibility,sa国际传媒� she wrote. sa国际传媒淭he essence sa国际传媒� is its love of the unnatural, of artifice and exaggeration.sa国际传媒�
She also called camp sa国际传媒渟omething of a private code.sa国际传媒� Bolton notes that in later years, it became mainstream, to the point where it lost much of its subversive meaning. Originating in gay culture, it slowly became assimilated into the culture at large along with other parts of gay culture, he says.
But every so often camp comes back as a powerful influence in fashion, Bolton says, and he thinks itsa国际传媒檚 having a new moment now, because it always returns at a time of political polarization and instability.
At a press preview on Monday, Bolton told the crowd that since he chose the subject of sa国际传媒渃amp,sa国际传媒� everyonesa国际传媒檚 been asking two questions: sa国际传媒淲hy camp?sa国际传媒� and sa国际传媒淲hat IS camp?sa国际传媒�
And so the exhibit, which features some 250 items, begins with history sa国际传媒� and a grammar lesson. The term sa国际传媒渃ampsa国际传媒� was first used as a French verb sa国际传媒� sa国际传媒渟e camper,sa国际传媒� or to flaunt sa国际传媒� in the 17th century. In a 1671 Moliere play, the character Scapin tells a fellow servant to sa国际传媒淐amp about on one leg. Put your hand on your hip. Wear a furious look. Strut about like a drama king.sa国际传媒�
To remind us of one such drama king, theresa国际传媒檚 Louis XIV, in his official portrait: one leg in front, hand on hip, modeling his massive royal cloak, along with silk stockings and red-heeled shoes.
The exhibit then takes us from the verb to the adjective, sa国际传媒渃ampish,sa国际传媒� which had gay connotations in the 19th century, and then to the noun, where camp first enters a Victorian dictionary in 1909, defined as sa国际传媒渁ctions and gestures of exaggerated emphasis. Probably from the French.sa国际传媒�
Then comes the fashion. Theresa国际传媒檚 sa国际传媒渘aive camp,sa国际传媒� which is intended to be serious but failing, versus sa国际传媒渄eliberate camp,sa国际传媒� intended to be, well, campy.
There are enormous feathered dresses sa国际传媒� Sontag wrote that camp was sa国际传媒渁 woman walking around in a dress made of three million featherssa国际传媒� sa国际传媒� by Armani and by Jeremy Scott, the latter surrounded by scores of attached butterflies. Scott, a specialist in camp, also is represented by a dress of dollar bills, and his McDonaldsa国际传媒檚-themed outfits for Moschino, where he serves as creative director.
From John Galliano, there are dresses that seem made of newspaper clippings and packing tape. And because the Palace of Versailles is seen as sa国际传媒渁 sort of camp (Garden of) Eden,sa国际传媒� theresa国际传媒檚 a section of Versailles-style gowns by designers like Franco Moschino and Vivienne Westwood.
sa国际传媒淐amp is sa国际传媒楽wan Lake,sa国际传媒檚a国际传媒� Sontag wrote, so we also have Bjorksa国际传媒檚 famous swan dress by designer Marjan Pejoski, the birdsa国际传媒檚 long neck curving over the shoulder.
Representing what Sontag called sa国际传媒渢he convertibility of sa国际传媒榤ansa国际传媒� and sa国际传媒榳oman,sa国际传媒檚a国际传媒� designer Thom Browne contributes a mansa国际传媒檚 wedding outfit that combines a black tuxedo with a white filmy skirt.
And maybe there isnsa国际传媒檛 a Lady Gaga meat dress, but theresa国际传媒檚 a Jeremy Scott sa国际传媒減rosciutto dresssa国际传媒� (not real, this time), and his wacky TV dinner cape sa国际传媒� with carrots, peas and corn on one side, mashed potatoes with butter on the other (theysa国际传媒檙e fake too, thankfully.)
Because camp sa国际传媒渟ees everything in quotation markssa国际传媒� (Sontag again), there is designer Virgil Ablohsa国际传媒檚 2018 little black dress that says sa国际传媒淟ittle Black Dress,sa国际传媒� with boots that say sa国际传媒淔or Walking.sa国际传媒�
And theresa国际传媒檚 a gigantic birthday cake-like dress of cascading pink tulle by Viktor & Rolfe, which says sa国际传媒淟ess is Moresa国际传媒� sa国际传媒� because camp is, above all, about irony.
Bolton says he started thinking about camp two years ago when mounting his show on Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garcons. He reread Sontagsa国际传媒檚 essay and was struck by how relevant it felt.
He was also inspired to mark the 50th anniversary this year of the 1969 Stonewall riots, a landmark moment in the history of gay rights.
Bolton notes that some designers have always embraced camp sa国际传媒� Moschino, Scott, Marc Jacobs and Anna Sui, for example. sa国际传媒淏ut what yousa国际传媒檙e seeing now is other designers adopting it, like Valentino, Armani. Thatsa国际传媒檚 when it shifts, when itsa国际传媒檚 going beyond a handful to a broader group.sa国际传媒�
When the show opens to the public on Thursday, Bolton hopes visitors will be able to look beyond campsa国际传媒檚 formal characteristics sa国际传媒� irony, parody, artificiality and extravagance, to name a few sa国际传媒� and see its broader meaning.
sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 all of that,sa国际传媒� he acknowledges. sa国际传媒淏ut itsa国际传媒檚 much more.sa国际传媒�
Jocelyn Noveck, The Associated Press
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