Met Gala 2016: Less About Technology Than It Is About Madonna

As the Met Ball continues to become a renowned spectacle watched by all the world for the forecast of fashion, it seems more and more of a challenge to develop a theme that 1) makes any sense and 2) is easy to adhere to. The gala’s 2016 “Manus x Machina: Fashion in the Age of Technology” motif seems to be a case in point of that.

While the technology referred to speaks more to the innovations in the machinery used to churn out couture, it also, of course, speaks to the capabilities of fashion to become more “tech-oriented,” hence a dress designed by Marchesa and IBM Watson that served as a mood ring, of sorts, to track people’s “emotional” reactions throughout the gala on social media. “Joy, passion, excitement, encouragement and curiosity” were, according to the design house, the emotions trackable by the dress. Apparently, rage and despair are still too advanced to add into the mix.

But apart from that one overt fashion “advancement,” the tech theme of the evening seemed to be more about adopting a “futuristic” silver-tone look, showcased most blatantly by known basiques Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga. But Madonna knows that the one “retro” element of la mode that will always attract attention is skin-baring.

While Madonna’s last derrière flash was a mere year ago at the 2015 Grammys (and received with far more of a backlash), this is the first time in a while she’s so blatantly bared all of her body in an ensemble. And in showing up looking so well (despite the usual requisite comments about her age that somehow even Cher never receives), she’s essentially dancing on Prince and Michael Jackson’s grave.