ERL designer Eli Russel Linnetz, who worked with A$AP Rocky on his Met Gala look, told Vogue that the quilt was found in a thrift store.
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A$AP Rocky's rainbow quilt was one of the most striking looks from the Met Gala red carpet.
But for one family in particular, his decision to rock the handmade patchwork look hit closer to home, given that it was knitted by a relative. Taking to Instagram on September 20, a woman named Sarah, who goes by @books_n_babies on the platform, shared that it was her great-grandmother who originally designed the rapper's Met Gala look.
"My great grandmother's quilt was donated to an antique/thrift store a while back," she captioned an image taken of A$AP and his girlfriend Rihanna on the red carpet next to an image of the quilt taken from what she said is her family's "old bed." The post has since amassed 57.4 thousand likes and received nearly 700 comments.
"When I saw the #metgala photo I realized instantly that it had to be the same quilt," she added. "Looks like great grandma Mary went to the #metgala with @asaprocky."
In the same caption, she went on to say she became even more confident that the item was knitted by her great-grandmother after reading Vogue's interview with ERL designer Eli Russel Linnetz, who worked with the rapper to create his Met Gala look in line with the 2021 theme, "In America: A Lexicon of Fashion."
Linnetz, who spoke about how handcrafted pieces are an "integral part of the American experience," said that quilt, which was sourced from a thrift store in California, represents "a world of memories."
"There's an intense narrative to this piece, it's beautiful on the outside," the designer, who customized the piece alongside quilter Zak Foster, said.
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Since recognizing it as her family heirloom, Sarah shared an update to her original post providing further details about the origins of the quilt. In the second Instagram post published on Saturday, she clarified that her family is not "accusing anyone of stealing," and that they aren't seeking any monetary gain from highlighting the origins of the piece.
Instead, she said she wanted to share her awe for the journey an item her great-grandmother made has taken.
"I found it amazing that something that my great grandmother made out of love for my mother, to be used to keep her warm, and was donated so that it might keep somebody else warm or sold to raise funds for a lovely charity, ended up being used for an amazing statement art piece by amazingly talented people who took it to the next level," she wrote.
She also shared that she has been in contact with both Linnetz and Foster.
Addressing concerns that commentators have had about her family giving away the quilt, she added: "Please don't be worried we still have many quilts and afghans and handmade lovey's," that her great-grandmother left behind.
@books_n_babies did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
