thom browne presents:
the met gala all-star camp fashion revue

act two … song of the epicene starring zazie beetz

images by anna victoria best


jazz beats, zazie beetz, starring in the convertibility of man, woman, person, thing.

tables go quiet in a smoky dark,
champagne and whiskey pour, a spotlight erupts.

groom meet bride, bride meet groom, enter black three-ply mohair evening tuxedo, exit white double duchess wedding gown.
flip-flop, flip black grosgrain tipping, flop hand-embroidered lyon lace.

born naked. dressed alike as infants. the rest is elaboration.
from the garden of a wingtip brogue sprouts a fine heel.

louche and loose, rebellious and provocative, tipple of whisky, drag of a gauloises.
the improvisation of menswear-turned-womenswear-turned menswear.

what shape are clothes on man? what shape on woman?
just a cultural construct anyway.

refined attraction pushes against the grain.
what you are is what you are not, sewn into a multi-fabric cascading bouquet with covered buttons and pearl clusters.

a gent in hand-cut, hand-appliquéd lace, a dame in wide mohair lapels and black silk faille bowtie.
a man in white piqué shirt with french cuffs, a woman in hand-embroidered pearl.

black goes white, white goes black. a canary in the binary. black and white patent leather long point brogue heels
duchess satin, organza, and lyon lace wedded to black grosgrain-tipped mohair.

a wink, a cocked hip, the thin flowing cool of a train in powder blue-lined silk taffeta.
ladies and gentleman, good night.