The Metropolitan Museum of Art Cancels Dinner for French Designer in Wake of Paris Attacks

Jacqueline de Ribes ditches her New York trip.

Jacqueline de Ribes.
Image: Courtesy the Met.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has canceled an upcoming dinner on Wednesday, November 18 intended to honor French designer Jacqueline de Ribes in advance of the Costume Institute exhibit: “Jacqueline de Ribes: The Art of Style.”

Christian Dior CEO Sidney Toledano supported Campell’s choice to ditch the formal dinner in the wake of the attacks on Paris last Friday, according to Womens Wear Daily. Instead, the Met will hold a private viewing of the exhibition followed by a cocktail hour with a business casual dress code.

De Ribes was scheduled to attend the dinner but she has canceled her planned New York trip altogether. The Met released a statement:

“Comtesse de Ribes also knows how much Americans share the deep sadness felt in France which confirms the enduring bond between the two countries. She hopes the exhibition will represent the joy associated with the freedom of creation.”

The designer is known for her dramatic style, and even more for her dramatic presentation. As Oscar de la Renta told Vanity Fair in 2010, “No one knew like Jacqueline the power of an entrance.” When she decided to embark on a career in fashion design in the early 1980s, many of her peers were skeptical. “Everybody was prepared to ridicule the society lady making fashion. But she made beautiful clothes. Jacqueline’s an elegant lady with a naughty twist,” John Fairchild, then publisher of Women’s Wear Daily, told Vanity Fair.

The exhibition opens November 19 and continues through February 21, 2016. The show includes 60 items from de Ribes’s beloved haute couture and ready-to-wear pieces from her personal collection that helped her become a staple of international best-dressed lists for the past four decades.


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