2017 Met Gala Theme Might Include Gender-Neutral Designs

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has announced the theme of the 2017 Met Gala will be the work of designer Rei Kawakubo with Comme des Garcons, but that isn't all they revealed. The Costume Institute Benefit, as the Met Gala is formally called, will feature an exhibition on Kawakubo's collections, which may include gender-neutral pieces.

Vogue magazine reports that 120 of Kawakubo's creations will be arranged "by contrasting themes (East/West, male/female, past/present), which touch upon Kawakubo's fascination with 'in-betweenness.'" The in-betweenness that they mention alludes to a non-binary quality in her designs, which will hopefully reflect the complex, non-binary nature of gender. The designs will also be at eye-level without any phyiscal barriers between them and the viewer.

The Costume Institute's curator in charge, Andrew Bolton, had this to say about Kawakubo's groundbreaking collection: "Rei Kawakubo is one of the most important and influential designers of the past 40 years. By inviting us to rethink fashion as a site of constant creation, recreation, and hybridity, she has defined the aesthetics of our time."

The Met Gala will take place on May 1, 2017, and the Kawakubo's exhibit will open to the public on May 4.