Christopher Kane Unpacks the Gilded Glamour of Tommy Dorfman's Met Gala Gown
Tommy Dorfman knows a thing or two about drama, so it's no surprise that the actress — best known for her role in 13 Reasons Why — made her Met Gala debut in anything less than show-stopping.
Designed by Christopher Kane and styled by Taylor Angino, Dorfman's phthalo green gown is a cerebral yet sexy interpretation of the night's theme, Gilded Glamour. Neither overly obvious nor esoteric, the look is totally Tommy: sexy, playful, unexpected.
"I met Tommy at our friend Lena Dunham’s wedding last year and we had a lot of fun — I have been a fan of her activism and modeling for a while," Kane explains over e-mail. "She then contacted me after my Fall/Winter 2022 show saying how she would love to wear some pieces for events and naturally, the subject of the Met came up. It made perfect sense."
Made of deep green rubber, a hero fabric of Kane's FW22 collection, the dress is to die for — literally.
Its unconventional material is a nod to the many technological innovations (including those in textiles) witnessed during the Gilded Age, while its color — Dorfman's favorite — references a rather dark historical tidbit from the time.
"During [The Gilded Age], the color green was made with arsenic and could only be worn for a limited amount of time — so it was a decadent, sought-after color to make a statement in," Dorfman says, adding that she and Angino looked to art of the era — works by John Singer Sargent, August Toulmouche, and Thomas Eakins — for inspiration.
Embodying the poise and elegance of the women these painters captured, Dorfman "looks like a debutante from the Belle Époque era," Kane illustrates. "It’s super clean and sophisticated with just enough detail and architecture to the gown that makes you reminisce about old paintings of high society women in New York."
Glamour aside, Dorfman's look is distinctly nostalgic, too. Just ten years ago, the actress was selling Kane's creations at Dover Street Market in New York City. Now an ambassador of Amazon Luxury Stores (which stocks Kane, among other industry greats), she's wearing one of the designer's custom pieces to her first Met Gala.
Says Dorfman, "it really feels like a beautiful full-circle moment."
