04 May A Ticket into the Most Exclusive Night of the Year

Every spring, the Metropolitan Museum of Art creates a major fashion exhibition and hosts a lavish star-studded fundraiser known as the Met Gala to celebrate its opening day. The First Monday in May takes an unprecedented look behind the scenes of the most attended fashion exhibition in history, “China: Through The Looking Glass,” in 2015. Acclaimed filmmaker Andrew Rossi follows Anna Wintour, Vogue Magazine’s well-known editor in chief and longtime chair of the Met Gala, and Andrew Bolton, the Costume Institute curator responsible for the groundbreaking show, eight months prior to the event as they prepare for the “Superbowl” of fashion.

One of the most interesting aspects of The First Monday in May is how much access Andrew Rossi is given throughout the process. Bringing two completely different cultures (Eastern and Western) together using art can be complicated and the Chinese aren’t taking anything lightly. Viewers meet the Chinese art director, Wong Kar-Wai, who firmly informs Wintour and Bolton when they’re stereotyping Chinese culture and veers them in different directions. However, it is Wintour’s show. As her staff frets over who George Clooney or Beyoncé must sit next to, she’s sipping Starbucks and choosing flower arrangements. Every single detail, big or small, has an aesthetic impact to Wintour’s vision and this is her art. With such high standards from those involved and attending, Wintour and Bolton pull off a wonderful exhibition celebration to prove that fashion, indeed, is art.

Watch The First Monday in May on FlixFling.

This guest blog was written by Breelyn Starrett.