A pair of jeans, a white tee, and a puffer coat probably sound more like a Saturday outfit than the starting point for a fashion exhibition. But those are exactly the kinds of pieces the Met’s Costume Institute is putting in the spotlight for spring 2027. Its new exhibition, extraORDINARY: Fashion and the Poetics of the Everyday, looks at how designers take familiar clothes and materials and make us see them differently. (metmuseum.org⁠)

Those jeans deserve a second look

One of the pieces I’d want to see up close is Matthieu Blazy’s take on blue jeans for Bottega Veneta. From across the room, the outfit looks like denim and a white tank. Both pieces are actually leather. The exhibit will also feature a Marc Jacobs flannel shirt from his Perry Ellis days and a Junya Watanabe biker jacket. I like that you can recognize the idea behind each look right away and still be surprised by what the designer did with it. (metmuseum.org⁠, vogue.com⁠)

And then there’s the broken china. Martin Margiela used pieces of shattered china in an ensemble, and a more recent Maison Margiela look features a silverware bodice. Imagine opening the kitchen drawer and seeing the beginnings of an outfit. I’d love to see how that bodice moves when someone walks in it. (metmuseum.org⁠, vogue.com⁠)

My take on the theme

When I heard the Met’s theme, I thought about the boots I recreated using heavily distressed denim. I kept the jean pockets as part of the design, along with the original button and belt loops. The pockets are one of my favorite details because you can look at the boots and still recognize the jeans they came from. The long threads exposed by the distressing add texture and move when I walk.

Working on these boots made me look at a pair of jeans differently. I started paying attention to which parts I wanted to show off. A pocket could become a focal point, and a frayed section from top to bottom could give the boot its shape and texture. That’s what connects my boots to the Met’s theme for me. I took details I’d seen a hundred times on jeans and found a new place for them.

This Met Gala theme is for me! I’m already creating my look, taking something familiar from my closet and putting my own spin on it, just like I did with my denim boots. Come May 2027, I’ll be hitting my own street runway in a look I created myself.

When to see it

The Met Gala takes place May 3, 2027. The exhibition opens to the public May 9, 2027, at The Met Fifth Avenue in New York and runs through January 9, 2028. The Met will announce the official red-carpet dress code separately. (metmuseum.org⁠, metmuseum.org⁠, apnews.com⁠)