In that respect, the designers who excelled Monday night made a stronger closing argument on behalf of American fashion's ingenuity than the exhibit they were ostensibly honoring. Where was the vibrance that we saw just over the last week during the New York collections? The show-must-go-on brio of Michael Kors’s presentation at Tavern on the Green? The exuberance of the street that we saw at Tory Burch? The originality of Anna Sui or Willy Chavarria? All these boxes were checked in the exhibition, literally, but they were more like dots in a pointillistic painting that never fully came together.
Mannequins are shown in individual cells that undercut the premise that American fashion is a vibrant tapestry of styles, disciplines, and sensibilities. Photo credit: Jamie McCarthy/MG21 - Getty Imagesīut judging against the Costume Institute’s own recent productions-which by and large showcased, and were underwritten by, European labels-“A Lexicon of Fashion” is wan, muted, lacking ambition and heart.
