9 Time-Travelling Gowns We’re Sad We Won’t Get To See Meryl Streep Wear At The Met Gala

9 Time-Travelling Gowns We’re Sad We Won’t Get To See Meryl Streep Wear At The Met Gala - British Vogue

Posted: 18 Mar 2020 12:00 AM PDT

The Met Gala has been postponed, and with it the promise of co-chair Meryl Streep wearing an expertly masterminded take on the About Time theme extinguished. For those lamenting the cultural loss of seeing the doyenne of cinema (21 Oscar nominations and counting) grace the museum's hallowed stairs in the fashion equivalent of one of Virginia Woolf's time-based quotes – the author will act as the exhibition's "ghost narrator" – we have unpacked the avenues down which Streep might have gone had she dipped into the autumn/winter 2020 collections on the first Monday in May.

Louis Vuitton, the principal sponsor of the ball, would have been a clear frontrunner. Not for nothing did Nicolas Ghesquière – whose time at the French house has been heavily influenced by time travel – stage a costume drama spectacle (very Meryl) at his latest show. Over 200 characters in period dress from the 15th century to 1950 watched models sporting genre-defying, era-straddling looks walk the runway. Fashion nerds cut from the same cloth as Streep's Miranda Priestly – who famously schooled her assistant on the history of cerulean blue in The Devil Wears Prada – cheered on the theatricals from the sidelines.

About Time curator Andrew Bolton has divided the show contents into two sections or "timescales", the first of which comprises a series of black looks dating from 1870 to 2020. Virginie Viard's mostly monochrome Chanel autumn/winter 2020 collection – which she described as exploring "romanticism but without any flourishes; emotions but without any frills" – would nod to the institution's linear exploration of the inky dress. The second segment explores what Bolton calls "counter-chronologies" via mostly white ensembles. From Maria Grazia Chiuri's pristine cream Dior dresses rooted in activism, to Alessandro Michele's Fellini-inspired frothy lace gowns at Gucci, myriad designers offered up pale and interesting confections as part of their seasonal edits.

Of course Sarah Burton's McQueen collections are always rooted in historical folklore, and for autumn/winter 2020 it was a research trip to Wales that got her creative juices flowing. "I wanted this collection to be really grounded, bold, and heroic," she said of her paean to the country. "I think we want to be empowered at this time." When About Time does open after the coronavirus pandemic is no longer at crisis level, Burton's sentiment will no doubt be in tune with how the Met's visitors are feeling.

Read more: Met Gala 2019: Best Dressed

Let's not forget Marc Jacobs's Jackie Onassis-inspired looks, which spoke of the prim glamour of the '60s, while Miuccia Prada's Miu Miu cocktail coats and crushed silk maxi dresses were a masterclass in retro-ish, debutante evening wear. Jonathan Anderson's tinsel-tiered dresses had a flash of the '20s about them at his namesake label, and Jeremy Scott's flamboyant Moschino line was a celebration of Marie Antoinette (by way of Sofia Coppola) couture.

Here, nine Meryl Streep-worthy dress ideas for the Met Gala, should it be rescheduled. In the meantime, may it provide you with some fabulous, fashion-related distraction.