Models & Monet

After spotting Helena Christensen strolling through the West Village and then Lauren Hutton on the Lower East Side, I was definitely in model mode so off I went to see the Model as Muse show at the Met. Yes - we laughed at Kate's turban and Madonna's horns so it was time to see what all the fuss was about. The exhibition focuses on the iconic models of the twentieth century and features haute couture, fashion photography, video footage and magazines interspersed with clips from Funny Face, Blow-Up and George Michael's Freedom vid. I admit that it's a pretty slight concept for such a large-scale show but for model mad me, it's a dream. Highlights for me were portraits from the masterful Irving Penn, Twiggy by Melvin Sokolsky, Peter Lindbergh's pics of the '90s supers and my beloved Christy in Jil Sander, shot by Ellen von Unwerth. Another standout was the tableau of Charles James gowns and Louis XV furniture used to recreate Beaton's 1947 Vogue photograph. What shines through it all is the importance of the relationship between model and photographer - Irving Penn and wife / muse Lisa Fonssagrives, David Bailey and Jean Shimpton, Linda Evangelista and Steven Meisel.

The show struggles to provide justification for taking over such a huge space and basically filling it with pretty faces and gorgeous clothes. It also doesn't give much insight into the modeling experience and much of the content will be familiar to anyone with even a passing interest in fashion although as some frothy light relief from Eqyptian artifacts and Monets, it more than delivers. NOK