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U.S. First Lady Dr. Jill Biden visits the Met

U.S. First Lady Dr. Jill Biden Fannie Crisis Payne room (All photos by Rene Minus White/A Time To Style)

By RENEE MINUS WHITE Fashion & Beauty Editor

The First Lady of the United States Dr. Jill Biden made a special guest appearance on Monday, May 2, at the press launch for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s spring ’22 Costume Institute exhibition “In America: An Anthology of Fashion.” Opening to the public on Saturday, May 7, it is the second in a two-part exhibition that opened September 2021 with “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion.” It’s currently on view in the Anna Wintour Costume Center. Both exhibits will close on September 5, 2022. That evening’s glamorous Met Gala, funding The Costume Institute, followed the press preview and formally unveiled the extraordinary exhibition.

Introduced by Diana M. Montavo, a Library and Collections intern at The Costume Institute, Dr. Biden expressed her concerns for the Ukrainians and how she plans to spend Mother’s Day with Ukrainian families. “I hope the exhibition will remind folks to be bold and brave,” concluded Dr. Biden. After remarks, the First Lady went on a tour of the exhibition with Met interns and her team of escorts.

“It is an exceptional honor and a privilege to welcome the First Lady of the United States, Dr. Jill Biden, to The Metropolitan Museum of Art,” said Daniel H. Weiss. “We look forward to recognizing together the powerful ways in which art can teach us about our past, connect us to the present, and inspire a vision for the future.”

Max Hollein added, “This is a particularly timely and relevant exhibition that explores under-recognized stories of American cultural history, offering more expansive ways of understanding the past.”

“Fashion is about storytelling and self-expression,” said Eva Chen, vice president of fashion partnerships at Instagram, the sponsor of the exhibit.

Approximately 100 garments are presented within the sumptuous settings of the museum’s American Wing period room. Presented in collaboration with The Met’s American Wing, this section of the exhibition highlights narratives that relate to the different histories of the American Wing period rooms. Men and women’s clothing dating from the 18th century to the present are featured in time-decorated vignettes installed in select rooms spanning 1805-1915, including a Shaker Retiring Room from the 1830s; a 19th century parlor from Richmond, Va.; a panoramic 1819 mural of Versailles; and a 20th century living room designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. These interiors display a survey of more than 200 years of American domestic life and tell many stories—from the personal to the political, the stylistic to the cultural, and the aesthetic to the ideological.

In the Richmond Room is an impressive display of designs by Fannie Crisis Payne, where the dresses reveal the designer’s technical skill and refined artistic sensibility. Born in about 1867 to formally enslaved parents, Crisis Payne belonged to a generation of Virginians who built their livelihoods following the abolition of slavery in the United States.

Among the many attendees was Ashaka Givens, wearing a Kelly green haute couture hat, who created the costumes for The Anne Lowe Room in the exhibit, directed by Julie Dash. Anne Lowe designed the late Jacqueline Kennedy’s wedding dress to late President John F. Kennedy. You remember Julie Dash: she also directed “The Rosa Parks Story” and “Daughters of the Dust.” Givens (www.ashashagivens.com) is a milliner, and her hat was eye-catching. Designer Ryan Marap of Jetpack Homme talked about his sustainable sweater ensemble that’s featured in “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion.” A portion of the first exhibit was devoted to signature patchwork quilts.

Harlem-based photog makes Met Gala history

Flo Ngala arriving on the scene (Photos courtesy of Flo Ngala)

By LOIS ELFMAN

Special to the AmNews

Photographer Flo Ngala inside at the Met Gala

At Monday night’s Met Gala there were many photographers working the red carpet, but only a handful of special individuals are invited behind the velvet rope and allowed to shoot inside the event. This year Flo Ngala, 27, a lifelong Harlem resident, became the first Black female photographer hired by Vogue to shoot this iconic event.

“It was amazing,” said Ngala on Tuesday morning. “I don’t really have words for it. I’m still digesting it. It was the biggest moment of my career. … For me to be a photographer there and be the first Black woman to actually be commissioned by Vogue for the gala is incredible.”

Her interest in photography began in the eighth grade when her school offered a photography class as part of the art curriculum. She said that impacted the way she looked at things and created images. While still in high school, she photographed her friends’ headshots for $30 a pop. What she considers her first actual professional gig was photographing rapper Gucci Mane in 2016. She is known for photographing celebrities, but has also captured Harlem life and culture.

Her career took another step forward in 2019 when Ngala extensively photographed musical artist Cardi B, including her preparations for and red carpet appearance at the 2019 Met Gala. They worked together just last week. At Monday’s festivities, she shared a moment with Cardi B inside the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Ngala did not seek out the gig. She was contacted by Vogue, but despite their appreciation of her work, they asked her to submit photos that showed she was up to the task. She sent 20 photos of Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion and other high-profile personalities to show that she knew how to work around celebrities and was able to get the job done. “It’s my ability to show that I can create and create under high-pressure circumstances,” said Ngala. “That’s what allowed them to trust me with it.” Even the photographer had to get into the spirit of the gala, which had the theme “Celebrating in America: A Lexicon of Fashion.” The dress code was “gilded glamour and white tie.” Her mother did her hair and her sister did her makeup. Her dress was by designer Mark Ingram for Harlem Toile.

Ngala estimates that she shot about 3,000 images over the course of about six hours. While these were celebrities, she said what she brings to the photographs is seeing the humanness in people, which allows her to be a better photographer. She shot images such as Naomi Campbell, Billie Eilish, Jared Leto and even former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

“I’m excited, of course, to see artists and entertainers, but ultimately I’m there to do a job and do it well,” she said. “I wanted to deliver on the photos. Also, because it was such an iconic moment for me, I wanted to have the presentation that was an embodiment of how I am and what comes with what I do, which is make people look beautiful.”

She saw that people were really excited to see each other, which is understandable after two years of the pandemic… That energy fueled many of the attendees. “I have so many words and no words,” said Ngala about her experience. “I want the work to speak for itself. It’s important for people to understand that this happened, but from a photographic and artistic standpoint, I’m excited for people to see the composition of the photos and the images I captured.”