Zac Posen at Costume Institute Gala

Okay. If you read my last blog about pulling off black tie well, I presented the safe, not-sorry option. But there are always exceptions to the rule. Zac Posen's Met gala outfit is one of them.

His shiny blue suit and red bow tie captures perfectly the spirit of dressing up and smartly reflecting the theme of the current exhibition at the Met's Costume Institute, Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy.

The fashion designer must be a fan of comic books like writer Michael Chabon. Chabon wrote in the New Yorker recently:

a superhero’s costume is constructed not of fabric, foam rubber, or adamantium but of halftone dots, Pantone color values, inked containment lines, and all the cartoonist’s sleight of hand.

Posen's look is graphic, colourful and it bears classic suit details of the 1940s (low button stance, a ticket pocket and wide peaked lapels). It seems he was inspired by Superman's earliest issues, where you could find Clark Kent in a sharp blue double-breasted, a red tie and a tan fedora. How could Lois overlook him?

Posen may have not gone black tie but he certainly dressed for the occasion. Great Scott and Holey Moley!