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Airdate: The First Monday in May

A fashion special on The Metropolitan Museum of Art marks the return of Arts docos to ABC Sundays.

ABC is returning Arts Documentaries to Sunday nights, kicking off with The First Monday in May, as cameras go behind the scenes of two of New York’s premier cultural events.

An unprecedented look behind the scenes of two of New York’s premier cultural events, The First Monday in May follows the creation of “China: Through The Looking Glass,” the most attended fashion exhibition in the history of
The Costume Institute at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the 2015 Met Gala, the star-studded fundraiser that
celebrates the opening of the exhibition. Acclaimed filmmaker Andrew Rossi (Page One: Inside the New York Times) follows Anna Wintour, Artistic Director of Condé Nast and editor-in-chief of Vogue magazine and longtime chair of the Met Gala, and Andrew Bolton, the iconoclastic conceived the groundbreaking show, for eight months as they prepare for an evening they hope will take the worlds of art and fashion by storm.

Documenting one of the most exclusive parties in the world side-by-side with an exhibition that drew more than three-quarters of a million visitors during its four-month run, The First Monday in May is a captivating portrait of the private side of a pair of high-profile public events.

The blockbuster exploration of Chinese-inspired Western fashions provides inspiration for the Met Gala’s annual collision of haute couture and celebrity, where Hollywood stars including Kate Hudson, George Clooney, Julianne Moore, Jennifer Lawrence, Gong Li, and Lady Gaga rub shoulders with Alicia Keyes, Kim Kardashian, Kanye West, Justin Bieber, Michael Bloomberg and contemporary pop icon Rhianna, who brings down the house with a stunning live performance.

The First Monday in May also reignites the debate over whether fashion can and should be viewed as art. Rossi speaks with renowned creators including filmmakers Wong Kar-Wai, Artistic Director of the exhibition, and Baz Luhrmann, as well preeminent fashion designers Karl Lagerfeld, Jean Paul Gaultier, Guo Pei and John Galliano. Thomas P. Campbell, Director of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Former Curator in Charge of The Costume Institute Harold Koda offer unexpected insights on the relationship between art, craft and commerce.

9:30pm Sunday on ABC.

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