Met Ball 2013: nude Vivienne Westwood sculpture rejected by Anna Wintour This year's Costume Institute Gala exhibition may be devoted to Punk, but a huge artwork of Dame Vivienne Westwood has been vetoed by US Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour. A 40ft artwork of Punk pioneer Vivienne Westwood intended to take centre stage at the unveiling of the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute exhibition in New York has apparently been banned by Anna Wintour, the event's co-chair. According to the Mail on Sunday, the sculpture - which happens to depict the 72-year-old in the nude - was to be one of the highlights of the 'Punk: Chaos To Couture' exhibition, which opens with a star-studded gala on May 6. The piece was intended to be interactive, with guests choosing graffiti-style images to be projected upon the sculpture. But Wintour is though to have called the work a 'needless distraction', thus cancelling its installation. Over 100 men's and women's designs from the original Punk era to designer creations inspired by the movement will be on display in the exhibit, referencing work by the likes of Alexander McQueen and Vivienne Westwood, to Marc Jacobs and Azzedine Alaia. Singer Beyoncé will act as honorary chair of this year's ball, joining co-chairs Anna Wintour, actress Rooney Mara, Givenchy's Riccardo Tisci and Moda Operandi co-founder Lauren Santo Domingo. Wintour has been quoted as describing Dame Westwood as an "unbelievable influence," but perhaps a gargantuan nude of the flame-haired designer is an influence too far.