Fashion Blogging + The Met's Collection = A Great Idea

Fashion bloggers, start your engines!! Whether you're a novice or an old pro, you can let your fingers do the talking at the Met's new exhibit that brings together fashions of years past and blogging! 

The exhibit, titled blog.mode: addressing fashion, began its run on December 12th and will continue through April 13th.  The Met is advertising it as being the "first in a series of shows designed to promote critical and creative dialogues about fashion." On exhibit are 65 costumes and accessories dating from the 18th century to the present, which are all recent Met acquisitions.

(British, b. 1941). Shoes, autumn/winter 1990

Essentially, this exhibit is meant to create conversation and debate around the fashions the Met has chosen for its collection.  Bloggers can comment live from a bank of computers set up in the galleries of the Met, or access the site at any time, from home.  The official blog site can be found at http://blog.metmuseum.org/blogmode/ 

In the bloggy world, everyone can be a critic, and the curators at the Met are looking to tap into the world's need to be heard, whether they're saying good things or bad.  "What we're hoping to unearth are the educated amateurs," said Harold Koda, curator in charge of the costume galleries.  "When we do hear from our audience in letters, they complain that the room is too dark, the labels are too low to read, and we do get some mash notes.  But we rarely get any written commentary on the fashions, and clothing is a very rich source of subjectivity."

The Met recognizes that there are a lot of fashion blogs out there, and that, in general, they aren't going anywhere; that's especially true for the blogs like Manolo's Shoe Blog, that has lots of advertising partners.   It seems that the fashion industry knows the fashion bloggers are here to stay too.  Last year, IMG, the organization that runs the New York Fashion Week shows, handed out about 40 press passes for some very lucky bloggers.  In contrast, just two years ago, only a very few were able to get a seat inside the Bryant Park tents where the shows were held. 

Yohji Yamamoto Dress, spring/summer 2005

So, what does all this mean?  It means you need to pull up a chair and bookmark  the site if you're not in a location that you can go straight over to the Met and check it all out for yourself.  If you can make it to the Met, you can see all 65 ensembles in one shot; if you're viewing them via the web from the comfort of your home, you'll have to settle for getting a peek at 2-3 at a time.  But, be sure to share your thoughts because the best ones will be compiled into a book and published later next year by Yale University Press; the new compilation will serve as the exhibition's catalog.