Kerry Washington (in a custom patchwork Michael Kors Collection gown) with the designer himself at the 2017 Met Gala.
Kerry Washington sported a chic short bob as a tribute to Rei Kawakubo at Monday night’s Met Gala, but her gown was a marriage of Kawakubo spirit and Michael Kors style.
“It’s a little punk, but glamorous punk — Park Avenue punk,” said Kors of the gown he custom-designed for Washington, a black double-crepe-sable cutout gown with silver patchwork embroidery.
“We wanted to play around with all the texture,” Kors explained, adding that the placement of the asymmetrical cutouts also was key. “We thought, OK, Rei does all these fabulous holes on all her sweaters, so how are we going to get holes into a glamorous gown?”
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His design for Natasha Poly likewise sported cutouts, a more graphic treatment on a custom crimson stretch-cady gown with sequin and crystal embroidery. “We’ve been talking about it since the [fall] shows,” Poly said. “Then it came down to this dress and one other, and last week I tried this one on, and Michael just said, ‘That’s your dress.’ It’s so great when you can work with a designer who really thinks about what works best on you—it’s not just about the statement he wants to make [on the red carpet], but about knowing you both look and feel great, and he could tell that when I put on this dress.”
Indeed, such thinking is key to the reason ladies of the red carpet love Kors: Mandy Moore, Elizabeth Banks, Chinese actress Yang Mi and Aerin Lauder likewise sported gowns by the designer. Kors also produced a black wool-twill tuxedo with satin piping from his men’s line for Washington’s husband, Nnamdi Asomugha.
Ultimately Washington revealed another reason for wanting to show a little skin via those perfectly placed cutouts on the slim, tactile gown. As Kors started to explain, “Last year she was pregnant on the red carpet…”
At which point Washington quickly interjected, “And this year I’m proving I’m not.”
