Chinese Takeaway

China’s influence on fashion is the subject of China: Through The Looking Glass, an exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, running May 7 through August 16, organized by both the Met’s Costume Institute and Department of Asian Art. It was also the theme of Monday night’s annual Met Gala 2015, where high fashion reigned supreme on the red carpet- take that, Oscar’s. The show juxtaposes Chinese costumes and decorative arts with more than 100 pieces by Western designers. The striking pairings include a blue and white silk evening dress from Roberto Cavalli’s fall 2005 collection and a Chinese jar from the early 15th century. The result is a mythical, fictional, and fantastical portrait of China, says Andrew Bolton, curator of the Costume Institute. But more importantly, here are twenty one red carpet standouts where red and chinoiserie seemed to be everywhere…sorry Beyonce, but you looked more appropriate for last weekend’s boxing match in Vegas than here.

1  2

3

4  5

6 7

8 9

10 11

12 13

14 15

16 17

18 19

20 21

1. Anna Wintour in Chanel; 2. Bee Shaffer in Alexander McQueen; 3. Rihanna in Guo Pei ; 4. Poppy Delevingne in Marchesa; 5. Allison Williams in Giambattista Valli; 6. Karolina Kurkova in Tommy Hilfiger ; 7. Lizzie Kaplan in Donna Karan; 8. Sarah Jessica Parker in H&M and custom Philip Treacy headpiece; 9. Amal Clooney in John Galliano for Maison Margiela; 10. Emily Ratajkowski in Topshop  ; 11. Keri Russel in Altuzarra; 12. Lily Aldridge in Carolina Herrera ; 13. Naomi Campbell in Burberry; 14. Brie Larson, Courtney Eaton, and Annabelle Wallis in Dolce & Gabbana; 15. Jennifer Lopez in Versace; 16. Tabitha Simmons in Dolce & Gabbana ; 17. Alexa Chung in Erdem ; 18. Helen Mirren in Dolce & Gabbana ; 19. Georgia May Jagger in Gucci; 20. Kim Kardashian West in Peter Dundas for Roberto Cavalli; 21. Amanda Seyfried in Givenchy.