If the Oscars red carpet was resoundingly boring this year, the celebrities and the bold and beautiful made up for it in New York at the Metropolitan Museum's costume exhibition and gala, which had as its theme  "China Through the Looking Glass" - an exploration of how Chinese aesthetics have impacted on Western fashions over the decades. 

Drama came in all forms, with exquisite embroideries, floral motifs, beading, vivid hues and figure-hugging dresses so tight they might even make John Galliano's eyes water (here's to you, Beyonce and Kim Kardashian).    

Were we to expect a certain amount of stereotyped, reductive chinoiserie on the red carpet? Of course. But no one expected to see Sarah Jessica Parker trussed up like a cheap doll keyring you buy from the airport on your first visit to Asia. Seriously. What. The. Hell?