Guests attending at the Met’s Chinese Galleries and Costume Center this morning found a vibrantly-curated exhibition of more than 140 couture and ready-to-wear pieces, displayed in juxtaposition with significant examples of Chinese art. The galleries are low-lit, each room having a screen displaying images curated or created by Wong Kar Wei. One stunning chamber, showcasing more than half a dozen Dior couture creations, mimics a water-garden with a black tile floor while on the ceiling, a projection of a blood-red moon is animated by water dripping onto its surface and creating ripples.
Designers influenced by Chinese motifs include a who’s-who of the Western canon: Ralph Lauren, Alexander McQueen, Coco Chanel, Christian Dior, Tom Ford, Marc Jacobs, Karl Lagerfeld and Rodarte’s Kate and Laura Mulleavy are just some of the names represented in the show.

Vito Schanbel has a long and well-documented relationship with the semi-anonymous art world pranksters-turned-kingpins of the Bruce High Quality Foundation. The son of Julian, who's been a veritable art world figure in his own right since starting to deal at the age of 16, met the collective at Kennedy airport at 2003, after Mr. Schnabel asked them to buy him a bottle of champagne, because he was at the time underage. If that's not a classic art world meet-cute, I don't know what is.