The Hottest New Star of the 2024 Met Gala is technology and research
There’s a new star at the center of the largest pop culture event of the year — Artificial Intelligence and Augmented Reality. This year’s Met Gala theme is Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion and will center the rebirth and renewal of iconic fashion pieces of history.
Andrew Bolton is the curator in Charge at the Met and according to Vogue has structured this year’s exhibit around 50 historical pieces some of them dating back to the 19th century. On November 8, the museum described that this exhibit is going to use “first-hand research, conservation analysis, and diverse technologies — from cutting-edge tools, augmented reality, artificial intelligence, and computer-generated imagery to traditional formats of x-rays, video animation, light projection, and soundscapes — to reactivate the sensory capacities of masterworks in the Museum’s collection.”
This begs the question — how are scientists and technologists being engaged to create this exhibit? Further, how has the public and local community influenced the creation of this theme and exhibit?
To answer some of these questions — this isn’t the first time AI has made an appearance at the Met Gala. In 2023, a Paris based brand named Vaquera went viral on social media for posting dresses that don’t exist on celebrities that aren’t even real. The brand used AI — generated images to create realistic images that made it seem that they were one of the many brands in attendance at the event.
As AI technology has made itself more accessible the more relevant it has become on social media and pop culture. A recent example of this is the yearbook trend recently seen on Tik Tok and Instagram where users are able to download an app to generate images of what they supposedly looked like in their highschool yearbook photos. Also with the rise of platforms such as ChatGPT it almost seems impossible to separate every day tasks from Artificial Intelligence. The incorporation of AI into the Met Gala seems right on par with where the current trends are not only in social media but in technology in general. Once the event occurs it will be interesting to see what specifically
Additionally, this theme seems to stem from the uproar of not only conservationists but the general public over the use of Marilyn Monroe’s historical dress from 1962 by Kim Kardashian at the 2022 Met Gala. The public was outraged that a historic relic which requires specific conditions to be preserved was allegedly damaged for a moment that lasted only a few minutes. This moment has allegedly overlooked a resolution made by costume professionals that a historic costume should not be worn and could open the door for other historical costumes to be worn by high profile individuals. However, Ripley’s Believe it or Not Museum, the organization who owns the dress, claims that the dress was not damaged at all. Regardless, that moment seems to have left a lasting impression considering that this year’s theme is serving as a metaphor for the fragility and impermanence of fashion.
This exhibit plans to bring all 5 senses to life so attendees can be fully immersed in a garment. An exhibit of this size requires collaboration with technologists, researchers, and the local community. Creative consultant and founder of SHOWstudio, Nick Knight, will be collaborating with head curator Andrew Bolton to bring this vision to life. It’s reported that “various technological activations developed and realised…from cutting-edge tools, augmented reality, artificial intelligence, and computer-generated imagery to traditional formats of x-rays, video animation, light projection, and soundscapes, will afford visitors sensorial ‘access’ to around 250 fashion objects.” Additionally, the Met has engaged with Sissel Tolaas, a smell researcher and artist to bring garments to life through the recreation of smell. With a background in chemistry, mathematics, and art she brings a specialty in smell recognition, analysis, and reproduction.
As the Met Gala approaches it will be interesting to see how technology is intertwined in the creation of the exhibit and how not only celebrities and high profile individuals will engage with the theme on the red carpet but how the public will react to the . There is an opportunity here to intersect science, technology, art, and fashion in one of the largest pop culture events to take place.
