The ever-ostentatious flamingo is often associated with the concept of camp, this year’s theme for the Met Gala. Take Schiaparelli Couture’s fall 2018 flamingo-patterned cape, or a feathered Moschino dress from their Spring 2016 collection. And that’s just in fashion—the 1972 dark comedy, Pink Flamingos, is a cult classic for its bizarre, bold plot.
It was all of the above that inspired event planner Raul Àvila. Every year, the event planner and his team erect a show-stopping floral centerpiece in the Metropolitan Museum’s Great Hall—the unofficial, and grand, welcome to the Met Gala. This year, it will be a flock—also called a”flamboyant”—of fanciful flamingos. (In 2018, it was a papal crown of roses, in 2017, a playful Rei Kawakubo-inspired flower.) “We reference the radical and wild tones from the movie to create a refined, luxurious, and breathtaking centerpiece that exceeds any and all expectations,” Àvila tells Vogue. “This was our opportunity to take the unexpected and turn it into a theatrical and transcending moment for the industry.”
Tonight, after celebrities ascend the grand staircase of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, they will gaze upon a group bow-legged water fowl, standing 25 feet tall and comprised of 30,000 flowers. The playful creatures are surrounded by a border of pink feathers. All in all, Àvila says it took 25 people to assemble—a worthwhile effort for such a theatrical design.
Originally published on Vogue.
Editor
Elise Taylor