“Heavenly Bodies”: When Fashion Preaches and the Pope Taps In
New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art has turned the cathedral of couture into a literal shrine, unveiling its biggest ever show with a theme that’s sparking more awe than a breathless choir: Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.
The Liturgical Look‑Book
- John Galliano’s papal ambition – a stunning, embroidered mantle that could easily have flown off a robed saint’s shoulders.
- Jean Paul Gaultier’s tragic hero – a re‑imagined Joan of Arc armor, now a bold corset that sends globetrotting breeches packing.
- Valentino’s monastic makeover – an evening gown that could do for a monk what a black‑gold tuxedo does for a Hollywood debonair.
- And a crucifix‑stabbed Versace jacket mimicking ancient mosaics, perfect for those who want to wear the Lord’s word in style.
Who Liked It?
Not only are fashionistas thrilled, but even the Vatican’s top brass rubbed elbows with the exhibition’s grand opening. Cardinal Timothy Dolan, New York’s archbishop, slipped into the Met’s “Oscars of the East” gala, mingling with celebrities who decked out in outfits hotter than a consecrated Pentecost fire.
“What the church is doing here?” the Cardinal asked the press, letting it rain truths, goodness, and beauty. The answer? That every couture house has, at some point, stared into the same mystic mirror.
CORDI A L’ EXPIE – The Vatican’s Treasured Collection
For a few months, visitors could stroll into the church of the Anna Wintour Costume Center (yes, Anna Wintour – the Vogue czar who turned the Met Gala into the June seductress of yumminess) and be dazzled by a stash of 40 ecclesiastical relics borrowed straight from the Sistine Chapel’s sacristy.
Among the treasures:
- The tiara gifted by Queen Isabella II of Spain to Pope Pius IV – a 19th‑century silver cloth embroidered with gold thread and studded with about 19,000 stones (mostly diamonds!).
- Ancient papal mantles, from a Benedict XIV piece worn in the mid‑1700s to a pair of red shoes favored by John Paul II.
- Red shoes, or the kind that took years of Rome travel to pin to the display! How many papacies does that cover? More than fifteen – the heavens aren’t the limit.
Though the Vatican’s collection is uproariously “bling‑bling”, fewer than the eviction‑ready St. Paul’s Catholic laity are used to spotting a jewel‑studded collar. It’s a gentle reminder that the revered vestments are a blending of the sacred and the everyday.
Print, Study, Pray – The Exhibition’s Philosophy
Andrew Bolton, curator, points out that the spectacle draws inspiration from a pilgrimage. “It’s a conversation between art and style,” he told AFP, hinting that the designers are a representation of that pilgrimage – trunks of curiosity, shelves of faith.
In clutching clothing at whimsical B-sides, the designers share a sentiment: Catholicism has kept a powerful halo over their imagination, a mix of provocation, admiration and nostalgia for childhood’s simpler faith. The collection of gowns, from Chanel’s understated wedding gowns to McQueen’s wing‑splashed ensemble, anchors at the museum’s Byzantine and Medieval costs of the time.
Why Does This Matter?
Even in a metropolis nurtured by the proud Catholic community, the exhibition opened a door for a persuasive narrative of community and creativity. The display serves as a reminder that, though the Vatican may have been reluctant at first, the stakes aren’t simply about the way a priest looks on a run‑way. The beauty lies in the cross between the old real world of church and the modern glamour of haute couture. Because the pope’s own philosophy says “Simplicity and austerity are the must‑haves.” That’s a proof that clarity can turn into sparkle with a touch of humor.
