I love stories that are good, but then get better and just when you think, “aw, that’s great,” Wham! It has this awesome ending. That’s what happened with A$AP Rocky’s Met Gala look. Rocky and Rihanna were among the last to show up on the Met’s Red Carpet that night. Rihanna wore an all-black ensemble with astriking social statement. Rocky wore a beautiful take on the Gala’s theme, In America, A Lexicon of Fashion. He wore a gorgeous custom ERL silk taffeta tuxedo. Over it, he wore a large, colorful quilt cape that had been customized by ERL designer Eli Russel Linnetz with the help of quilter Zak Foster. It got a lot of attention. Many jokes were made, most were very funny. But no one can deny that quilts are a huge part of American culture, art and storytelling. It was a striking and unique statement piece. But where did it come from? Thanks to how much publicity Rocky got, we know. A lady named Sarah spotted the cape and recognized the quilt as one her great grandmother had made. After reading that Linnetz bought the quilt base from a thrift store in Southern California, she knew it was the same one and posted the photo above with this caption:
So my great grandmothers quilt was donated to an antique/thrift store a while back. When I saw the #metgalaPhoto I realized instantly that it had to be the same quilt. I read the vogue article about the designer finding the quilt in Southern California and with his office not that far from us in Venice California, I demanded that my mom go look for the photos of it on our old bed. Looks like great grandma Mary went to the #metgala with @asaprocky and @erl__________ they wrote a @voguemagazine article too 🤩
@themqg @quiltmag @yomaryfons@quiltfolk @zakfoster.quilts
[From books_n_babies Instagram via Buzzfeed]
It’s a very distinctive quilt, I would have recognized it too. Could you imagine watching Met Gala coverage when Great Grandma Mary pops up on A$AP Rocky’s shoulders? Better yet, holding Rihanna’s hand. Great Grandma Mary’s living the dream! Truthfully, this is what I was talking about when a story gets better. Because this quilt was loving made, used, found and reused into another form of functional art. And, like all quilts, its story was added to with pieces from Linnetz’s world and touches from Zak Foster. And now it will live on forever. I love that the story continues and so many people are adding to it. I love that Sarah found it so she and her family can be a part of it.
Of course, some people refuse to let happiness live. So they decided to crap on Sarah’s beautiful moment by accusing the designers of stealing the quilt and owing the family and yelling at Sarah’s family for giving away the quilt. Sarah said in a second post that she was never accusing anyone of stealing nor did they want money. She was just amazed at the quilt showing up at the Met. She’s in awe of what the designers did with it. And she let everyone know they have plenty of quilts from Great Grandma Mary in the family and that GGMary would love the idea of her quilt being donated to someone who needed it to keep them warm. And the fact that it has become a part of history at a benefit to raise money would thrill her. She walked with Rihanna, people – Great Grandma Mary is fiiine.
And as wonderful as I think this whole thing is, which I truly do, my absolute favorite A$AP Rocky comparison is still that of his look to Cap’n Crunch. Saturday morning cartoons and sugar cereal, very American lexicon.
ok but why does asap rocky look like captain crunch 😭 #MetGala pic.twitter.com/sRHLHYag6w
— welcome to clown town (@dykedotorg) September 14, 2021
This story is so funny and wholesome. Can you imagine going to your local Goodwill and dumping off a bunch of stuff from the archives of several generations ago thinking woohoo, you decluttered your house. And then all of a sudden to see something you thought you’d never see again flooding the Internet with memes and making national news stories preserved forever that you can show your grandchildren. “That’s your third great-grandma’s Mary’s quilt on A$AP Rocky’s shoulders!”
People are so funny about quilts. I just gave one away in my buy nothing group because though it is hand-stitched and hand-quilted and ONLY 20 years old, only 1/4 of it wasn’t falling apart from constant use. If it ends up at the Met-Gala, I’d be thrilled to see it get a second life. And yes, I would tell everyone my Mom made it.
I love this story… it is completely in keeping with the theme Of this year’s Met Gala!
Thanks for covering this story. It really gives all the feels, and it involves Rihanna!
I loved it when I first saw him wearing it as quilts are so interwoven with American history, but this just makes it even better.
That’s a great story and that look certainly got a lot of attention. Quilting is a venerable American crafts tradition and maybe this will give it more of a much deserved spotlight. Still not clear on how the designer styled the quilt. Is it just a quilt or is it a wearable piece?
Cool story, An American Quilt. Very cool. At least they kept with the theme and made it their own.
This is an awesome story!
ASAP’s look was my favorite from the Gala because I thought it nailed the theme.
Thanks for sharing rhis story.
It was a great way to showcase Americana. Quilting has a long history in the US (like the quilts that were maps of the Underground Railroad).
That being said, I’m one of those people over here cringing that they gave their great grandma’s quilt to a thrift store! While it is cool that it got a second life at the Met Gala, it shouldn’t have been in that situation! I’ve made a few quilts for friends, and my mom is a big quilter. I know the effort that goes into making one, and we only give them to people we know will appreciate that work. I can’t imagine giving any of my quilts to a thrift store, and I know my mom would haunt my ass for disrespecting her handiwork like that. They’re not disposable, mass produced junk, they’re produced by skilled craftswomen, and you should respect them like you would other artwork. Would you give to a thrift store the statue that your great grandfather whittled for you too?
Her grandmother made a lot of quilts. I just started quilting myself after years of garment sewing, within a year I already have more than this house needs. My friend sews quilts to donate because she has so many. The lady said they kept many quilts and donated the rest.
I was sad about it too until I read she had made many and they had others.
What a fun, interesting story.
Regardless of this particular story, not everyone puts emotions on inanimate objects. So if a certain item, be it a quilt or a satatue as you say, is storaged without being used and is ocuppying a lot of space then yes, I would give it away to someone who can appreciate it more than I do.
(I know you didn’t mean it as an insult, but that “mass produced junk” is also made by humans, in awful working conditions. Robots don’t make our clothes, people do)
Around here, people shop at thrift stores because they don’t have much money. Why shouldn’t they be able to find a heirloom, hand-sewn quilt that they can use and treasure?
I didn’t see the other side of the quilt. The red side looks so much better.
As a quilter myself who has works floating around out there in the world, I applaud this. It’s nice to get paid, but part of the fun of being an artist is letting your work go and seeing where it ends up.