Exhibit: Punk: Chaos to Couture

"Punk was something that was homemade. You could cut it yourself, you could dye it yourself -- it was having the guts to wear it." -Guido Palau

Model Edie Campbell dyed and cut her hair in to a spikey do for the Vogue spread Rebel Yell, shot by Steven Meisel.

The Met's annual gala begins in just a few hours! Taking a spin on an arguably edgier chapter from the history of fashion (compared to last year's Schiaparelli exhibit) Punk: Chaos to Couture looks to be a promising dive in to a counter culture that still holds relevance and influence today. The testimony to that is, as Jonathan Van Meter stated in Vogue this month, the fact that more than thirty designers are being represented in the exhibit. Recognizable to most will be Alexander McQueen, who's blatant use of punk  and morbid elements defined his career and personal style.

The sudden media push surrounding the gala and exhibit has me really looking in to punk influence for the first time. This counter culture within the fashion world is, admittedly, not one that I have been personally drawn to; so far, it was something I shied away from. But that is the beauty of history and museums; opening the eye and the mind to parts of the world we may have failed to explore or discover thus far.

This look from John Galliano's 2006 Dior Haute Couture collection combines DIY punk design with the tradition of intricate couture bead work.

Punk's DIY mentality certainly has application to those within alcoves of the modern 2013 fashion scene. I think it's safe to say that thrifting and vintage shopping are at an all time high. Countless blogs detail the where and how of  buying, crafting and modifying thrifty purchases in to "new" statement pieces. While these modern creations may not be as shocking as punkwear of the 70s and 80s, there is something to be said about the boom of a hipster counterculture of retro-vibing 20-somethings.

Where the punks desired to rebel and shock, modern day hipsters seem to live for a sense of nostalgia ironically before their time. In this way, punk fashion is a testament to the ever ongoing desire for a younger generation's means of expression in reaction to the world around them.

Punk: Chaos to Couture runs from May 9 to August 14 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

"At its best (worst?) it wants to offend your bourgeois sensibilities." -Jonathan Van Meter