Styling Diana Taylor for the Met's 'Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination' 2018 theme

Once again I had the honor of styling the beautiful Diana Taylor for this year's Met gala. The theme for the costume exhibition was 'Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination'.

When curating Diana’s ensemble, I turned to her personal archives and opted for a Chado Ralph Rucci gown. To tie into the theme of the evening, I drew inspiration from symbolic undertones and bold religious statements by adding embellishments and layered textiles to the existing shawl and gown.

As in the past, I partnered with my go-to New York City designer, Carli Beardsley to transform Diana’s gown.  Together we sourced ribbons, skins and finally hardware to serve as a focal point.  Carli lined the shawl with ivory raw silk to create sturdiness for the multiple layers of 1930’s Parisian military ribbons and vintage jeweled button embellishments.

Diana opted for Milano’s Isabella del Bono’s yellow sapphire sun drop earrings and pyramid emerald cabochon ring, designer Nayibe’s chunky Morano glass ring with gold accents and Stephen Russell’s shimmering antique gold bracelet. Both Diana and the gorgeous jewelry did not go unnoticed!

To tie in the gold undertones within Diana’s ensemble, hair guru, Kristian Kanika brought my vision of a regal, yet edgy, updo to life by adding asymmetrically placed gold hoops into Diana’s braided chignon.

To top everything off, New York City makeup artist, Azra Red opted for a fresh dewy face, with peach undertones for eyeshadow, and a natural nude lip to accent the colors within Diana’s garments.