May’s legendary “Met Ball” is arguably one of the most influential fashion events of the season. A sensory feast of sights, sounds, and as of this year, scents, to ignite fashion’s most extraordinary immersive experiences. The Met Gala, formally called the Costume Institute Benefit, is an annual fundraising gala held for the benefit of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute in New York’s Manhattan. This coveted cultural party invites prestigious contemporaries from social spheres including film, business, social media, sports, politics, music, and theater.
The First Monday in May
As a tradition, the first Monday in May is the anticipated entrée into the fete that shines a light on fashion’s finest. Intense media coverage of the evening always promises views of the glamourous fashion forward frocks on its famous guests ascending the famed Met stairs to gain a peak at the The Met’s Costume Institutes latest exhibit. Oft called “fashion’s biggest night”, 2024 Met Gala has roused its celebutante attendees with sensory effects including sights, sounds, and smells, to illuminate apparel from a once retired ghostly realm for The Met’s Costume Institute’s curation entitled “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion”. This exhibit showcases over 250 aged fashion and couture relics, most deemed too fragile to display on mannequins. Celebrating the decadent display of these archival masterpieces, a layer of smell complimented special lighting, video, and even AI technology, to provide that special “kiss” to stimulate the senses and bring this historical fashion back to life.
What is a smellscape?
“The smellscape is the olfactory environment as perceived and understood, consisting of odors and scents from multiple smell sources”.
Scent artist and scientist Sissel Tolaas was tasked with composing the smellscapes to give a hint of the individual luminaries that wore each garment. The unique smellscapes were created to stimulate the olfactory senses, introducing museum guests to the wearer. Clothing fibers were analyzed for smell molecules, body odors, signature perfumes and micro-scents, transforming a linear type of display into an immersive experience with movement, feel, visual cues and smells.
The Smell of Intrigue
Drawing attention to the smell of an individual “personality”, scent provides a sense of intrigue. The mysterious nature of the past life and history of the garment gives bloom to a myriad of imaginative scenarios. Was this particular gown custom designed for a special occasion? Where was it worn? How was it worn? How did this piece of clothing shape the experience of its wearer? As part of an immersive sensory experience, scent helps set the scene to tell a story about the time, place, and person that was dressed. For this, particular, exhibit’s “reawakening”, scent adds to the fantasy and intrigue, helping bring each piece back to life.
“Florals…for spring?…Groundbreaking” – Miranda Priestly, The Devil Wears Prada
Paying tribute to the natural world, the 2024 exhibit is designed within three zones, Land, Sea, and Sky. While only part of The Met Ball’s decor resembled a lush garden party, the dress code suggested for the evening was actually inspired by J.G. Ballard’s short story “The Garden of Time.” With the anticipation of floral attire to be on the dais, what proved truly groundbreaking was how this immersive experience utilized sensory effects to reawaken the senses.