I promise that we try. After the Oscars and the Globes and the Emmys and especially the MET Gala, when we break down the list of coverage and consider the assignments, Duana and I try mix it up, we try not to keep going to the same names for best and Heidi Klum for the worst. Last night we had an editorial standoff because we both wanted the same person for our best. Duana won out. And that post is coming momentarily. But, honestly, I felt the loss. Her Best Dressed is… a consistent Best Dressed and has, in a few short years, become a MET Gala essential.
An hour later though, and I hadn’t seen much of her during the live stream, I realised, OMG, Ruth Negga is there. And Ruth Negga made up for it. I lost one… but I gained Ruth. Ruth, if you recall, was my Best Dressed at the Oscars this year in red Valentino. Her dress was a fashion reclamation, in its own way a subversion of style and who it belongs to – or, rather, who has taken ownership of it. So Ruth knows what a piece of clothing can say, what a piece of clothing can represent.
At the MET Gala she once again went with Valentino, a dress that is both Valentino AND Comme Des Garcons. The delicate pleating underneath is all Valentino. And the print. And how ethereal she looks in it. But that back! Look at that back! The spectacular imagery of that back? Only made possible by the dress’s nod to Kawakubo. The front and the back serve as a board. It’s kinda like she’s wearing a fashion sandwich board. It’s a very CDG shape blended perfectly with the Valentino vibe. And THIS is what the MET Gala should be. This is why Ruth Negga is such a fashion star. This is why she’s running a streak. Best at the Globes. Best at the Oscars. Now Best at the MET Gala.
PS. Romance update: Dominic Cooper was with her last night.
