Photo: British Monarchy Photostream on Flickr
The Metropolitan Museum has assured me that this isn’t going to happen.
But when I came upon tomorrow’s article for the Scotsman (online tonight), I couldn’t help but wonder whether The Dress might yet show up as a late addition to the soon-to-open Alexander McQueen show at the Met. (After all, the director, Tom Campbell, speaks the Queen’s English!)
Jane Bradley writes:
Kate Middleton‘s £250,000 [!?!] wedding dress is to go on display to the public. A Clarence House spokeswoman said plans were being drawn up to show the gown, created by Alexander McQueen designer Sarah Burton, but she could not confirm when or where.
She said: “The Duchess of Cambridge [the commoner’s new moniker] is considering a number of options to give members of the public the opportunity to see close-up the skilled British craftsmanship that went into the making of her wedding dress.”
Even if the dress doesn’t show up at the Met, maybe Burton (creative director for the fashion house founded by the late McQueen) will. Tomorrow is the show’s press preview, not to mention the Met Costume Institute’s gala that night. Perhaps anticipating that The Dress would be designed by the McQueen fashion house, the Met chose actor Colin Firth, the King of “The King’s Speech,” as one of the McQueen gala’s co-chairs. (Couldn’t they have corralled a real royal for this occasion?)
Enough about the Met (at least for now). Bradley’s article also reports on a fashion trend that I don’t understand (one of many, I admit): I’ve read numerous reports that dress manufacturers everywhere are now working feverishly to churn out Royal Wedding knockoffs. Can it really be that thousands of brides want to be seen in the same dress (a cheap imitation, at that)? I expect we will also have a McQueen Halloween.
As the mother of a soon-to-be bride (I can’t “confirm where or when,” as was said of the showing of Kate’s dress), I can only hope that CultureDaughter (quite as beautiful as Kate) finds her own look! I now expect to be flooded with e-mails from fashion houses, vying to gown her. (Just kidding.) But first, she’ll be donning a cap-and-gown, later this month. (And she has not only said yes to a marriage proposal but also accepted a job proposal.)
As someone who has imminent travel plans (not to London, alas), I can only hope, art-lings, that you’ll be patient if my posting this week is a bit spotty.