Director Andrew Rossi on the Met Gala and his Upcoming Film

Director Andrew Rossi on the Met Gala and his Upcoming Film

Andrew Rossi, director of the new documentary The First Monday in May, spoke with i-D Magazine regarding his relationship with fashion, the Met Gala, and the influence Rihanna has brought to the fashion scene.

Regarding his relationship with fashion, Rossi discussed how his fascination brought him to the Met Gala and Anna Wintour. “I was interested in going behind the scenes at an institution, and also in unpacking the mythology surrounding another institution, which was Anna Wintour,” he stated in the interview. “I think being able to see her working in conjunction with Andrew Bolton was a fresh way to look at many different ideas — is fashion art? How do art and commerce relate? And then, finally, why is Anna Wintour so motivated by what the costume center does?”

Rossi goes on to confirm that he does find fashion to be an art form, citing Jean Paul Gaultier and Andrew Bolton as artists and curators in this medium. So far as couture is concerned, Rossi responded to a prompt that questioned his response to those who look negatively upon the association of couture and celebrities, citing Anna Wintour as both an influencer and a facilitator in this union. “I think it goes back to Rihanna on the red carpet,” Rossi responded “Harold Koda, the former curator in charge of the Costume Institute, says that Anna Wintour sort of understood that the marriage of celebrity and couture would make the sum of their parts more meaningful than each of those two things individually.”

The full interview is available here.

Andrew Bolton in THE FIRST MONDAY IN MAY, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures

Director Andrew Rossi on the Met Gala and his Upcoming Film