How many of us waited in one of those amazingly long lines to view Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty, last year’s blockbuster Costume Institute exhibition at NYC’s Metropolitan Museum of Art?

Well, it’s that time of year again when the Met launches yet another fabulous exhibit to coincide with its famous celebrity Costume Gala. And this time the Met’s new show is focusing on not one, but two famous designers, Elsa Schiaparelli and Miuccia Prada in Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations.

I was invited last Monday morning to attend the preview of this exhibit. Although the museum is not normally open on a Monday, members of the press were there while crew and employees were in full swing preparing for that evening’s gala.

I was back in our area by the time the party began, but during the preview, I could see the staff quickly moving to pull everything together. The main hall’s ticket booths had been removed and flowers were being placed as decoration.

And, although I missed seeing the movie stars that crossed the red carpet that night, there were several famous figures of the fashion industry at our event including American Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour,  Miuccia Prada, and the iconic Bill Cunningham of the New York Times.

Also present was Jeff Bezos, the CEO of Amazon, sponsor of the exhibit and Baz Luhrmann who directed the film that plays during the exhibit. Inspired by the film, My Dinner with Andre, videos of simulated conversations between Schiaparelli and Prada focus on how both women explore similar themes in their work through very different approaches.

This exhibit which will open to the public today and end August 19, 2012, is said to explore the striking affinities between Ms.  Schiaparelli and Ms. Prada, two Italian designers from different eras. Inspired by Miguel Covarrubias’s “Impossible Interviews” for Vanity Fair in the 1930s, the exhibition features fictive conversations between these iconic women to suggest new readings of their most innovative work.

There is much mention of the similarities of these two great designers. However,as Harold Koda,curator in charge, noted, there were several differences as well. Because of the demands of Cafe Society during Schiaparelli’s era, she  focused more on the top or waist up portion of clothing such as jackets.  Since women were usually seated in restaurants, she felt that that clothing from the bottom part was essentially redundant. Ms. Prada, however, prefers to focus on the bottom or waist down portion.

Schiaparelli collaborated with members of the Surrealism style including artistic great Salvador Dali and many of her pieces reflect this influence. Ms. Prada, instead, prefers to be successful on her own.

Great show. Don’t wait too long-you know what happened last year!

Click here for more info.