The Met Gala rebooted yesterday evening. From an iconic first Monday in May the event was rescheduled to a random Monday in September, fourteen months later its original date due to the global Coronavirus pandemic.
Expectations were high as the extravaganza is widely considered as the Oscars of fashion or "the Super Bowl of social fashion events," as André Leon Talley once called it, a favourite appointment for all those who love fashion, costumes and glamour.
The gala acts as the opening for the Costume Institute's annual exhibition at The Met Museum and as a fundraiser.
This year's two-part exhibition is entitled "In America: A Lexicon of Fashion" and celebrates American fashion designers, from the more established ones to the up-and-coming creators, and the gala (co-chaired by singer Billie Eilish, tennis pro Naomi Osaka, actor Timothée Chalamet and award-winning poet Amanda Gorman) had a social and political theme - "American independence".
A few guests opted for Iris van Herpen's creations, maybe attempting to recreate the magic effect of van Herpen's cape for Jordan Roth at the 2019 Met Gala (unfortunately there were no gowns by the Dutch designer that managed to replicate it), many more went for Thom Browne, one of the designers featured in the exhibition.
But glamorous moments and random surprises weren't missing: gymnast Simone Biles turned up in a crystal encrusted silver gown. Luckily, she's an athlete as the gown by Beckett Fogg and Piotrek Panszczyk's label Area was rather heavy, around 40kg, but she still had to be helped to go up the steps.
Another shiny and sparkling moment came courtesy of American rapper Lil Nas X who arrived in a golden cape, revealed a golden armour underneath and then stripped to a glamorous crystal-studded catsuit. The designs by Versace had a symbolic meaning, hinting at his coming out in 2019, while his strip-down routine evoked memories of Lady Gaga’s own four ensemble-performance at the 2019 Met Gala.
Symbolism was instead lost in singer, songwriter and artist Frank Ocean’s date, a rather upsetting creature, a robotic alien baby whose radioactive green complexion perfectly matched with the singer's hair, though the most disturbing thing about it was the horrifying gaze and smile it gave to photographers.
Apart from the glamorous and the bizarre, given the themes of the exhibition and of the Gala, the event turned into a more political evening than usual.
There were a few homages to the American flag with some guests choosing blue, white and red ensembles: for example, Debbie Harry was accompanied by Zac Posen who designed for her a gown with a hoop skirt composed of red and white organza strips forming a deconstructed American flag, matched with a denim jacket.
But the main difference between this gala and the previous ones was the fact that in other editions there were no attempts at referencing political or social issues. In past editions it seemed indeed more important to make a fashion statement or to symbolically hint at something via a specific colour or palette (remember when at the 2018 gala Lena Waithe honoured the LGBTQ community clad in a rainbow cape by Carolina Herrera).
At the 2021 Met Gala, instead, clothes and accessories decided to speak out and became proper mediums to spread a message: footballer Megan Rapinoe arrived for example in a vivid red trouser suit, a star-spangled blue shirt and a clutch spelling "In gay we trust"; model and actor Cara Delevingne, sported a custom Dior white look with a bullet proof vest with the slogan "Peg the Patriarchy" printed in red across her chest, in line with Maria Grazia Chiuri's feminist slogans that she often featured in Dior's collections.
Progressive congresswoman Carolyn Maloney of New York's 12th District also let her look speak: her gown in suffragette colours (green, white and violet, for "give women votes") was matched with a cape embroidered with the sentence "Equal Rights for Women". The "ERA" letters were also embroidered down the front of her dress and her bag was emblazoned with "ERA YES".
Maloney loves fashion with a purpose (but at times her choices came under scrutiny: she wore for example a burqa to give a speech on the House floor after 9/11 to highlight the condition of women in Afghanistan under Taliban rule, but her attire was a way to advocate for the invasion of Afghanistan), and in the past she donned a custom firefighter jacket gifted to her by a group of New York City firefighters to draw attention to her Never Forget the Heroes Act (a bill to secure funding for the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund; she opted for the jacket also at the 2019 Met Gala event View this photo).
On her personal Twitter account Maloney wrote: "Across the country, women's rights are under attack. I have long used fashion as a force 4 change. As the Met Costume Institute reopens w/ their inaugural exhibit celebrating American designers, I am calling for the certification of the ERA so women can be equal once and for all."
There was somebody else who also opted for "fashion with a purpose", Democratic socialist congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Her dress in suffragette white with tuxedo detailing had a message on the back spelling "Tax the Rich" in bold red letters (the same slogan was replicated on her bag). Designed by Brother Vellis' creative director Aurora James (and vaguely calling to mind, not for its shape, but for its colours, Viktor & Rolf's white gown with "I love you" in red donned by model Karolina Kurkova at the 2005 Gala View this photo), the gown was interpreted by some as the red carpet answer to Joy Villa's barbed wire pro-Trump "build the wall" dress at the 2019 Emmys (View this photo). AOC's gown was a way to remind us about the life inequalities (consider that tickets for the Met Gala cost $30,000 per person, while tables are up to $300,000).
The dress was also a symbol for a more ethical and equal fashion industry: in 2020 Aurora James started the 15 Percent Pledge – a call to major retailers in the US to ensure at least 15% of their shelf space to black-owned businesses. On her Twitter page AOC stated: "The medium is the message. Proud to work with @aurorajames as a sustainably focused, Black woman immigrant designer who went from starting her dream @brothervellies at a flea market in Brooklyn to winning the @cfda against all odds - and then work together to kick open the doors at the Met. The time is now for childcare, healthcare, and climate action for all. Tax the Rich."
Dutch makeup artist and beauty vlogger Nikkie de Jager instead paid homage with her gown to transgender activist Marsha P. Johnson, a leader in the 1969 Stonewall Riots, who died in 1992 at the age of 46 under mysterious circumstances.
De Jager, who is openly trans, wore a design by Edwin Oudshoorn Couture, a tulle aqua gown covered with pink, red and yellow flowers.
A sash around the dress read "Pay It No Mind," Johnson's response to those who questioned her gender and way of life. The dress was matched with a colorful flower crown.
This was actually a way to create a transnational look as well: Marsha P. Johnson loved flowers, but the headdress also referenced de Jager's origins, as it was a reinvented version of the Friesland oorijzer ("ear iron"), the iron band with "kissers" (ornate spirals or flat squarish ornaments) a key element of the national costume in The Netherlands. For the occastion de Jager's opted for square mirror-like gold kissers.
But there were also silent statements at the gala: Schitt's Creek's star Dan Levy in a custom Loewe look by Creative Director Jonathan Anderson referenced the late American multimedia artist and LGBTQIA+ activist David Wojnarowicz, who died of an AIDS-related illness in 1992.
The image of two men emerging from the sea and kissing embroidered on his outfit that also incorporated a map print was indeed a textile representation of David Wojnarowicz's artwork "Fuck You Faggot Fucker" (1984), and was a symbolical way to celebrate queer love and visibility. For the occasion Loewe made a donation to Visual AIDS, an organization promoting AIDS awareness and education and supporting HIV+ artists.
Pyer Moss' designer Kerby Jean-Raymond also decided to use his clothes in a symbolic and "silent" way: he arrived in a blood red suit with cropped Kevlar vest and gun pendant, symbols of police violence and America's addiction to guns.
It is worth remembering that at the 2019 Met Gala for the event "Camp: Notes on Fashion" screenwriter, producer and actress Lena Waithe and Jean-Raymond arrived instead in matching Pyer Moss suits with slogans on the back reading "Black drag queens inventend [sic] camp," and "Fix your credit; pool money; buy back the block," the latter intended as a message to encourage the economic prosperity of the African-American community (View this photo).
The silent statement of the night came from Billie Eilish: the 19-year-old pop star agreed to wear a voluminous peach gown with a 4-metre train by Oscar de la Renta that transformed her into a Marilyn Monroe blonde bombshell, but with a caveat.
The youngest ever celebrity to co-chair the gala, agreed on one condition that will radically change something at the American fashion house: Eilish, who is a vegan and animal rights activist, asked the fashion house to terminate all fur sales, managing to convince Alex Bolen, the brand's chief executive, a decision he often refused to take (so far, the fashion house had stopped using fur on the runway, but was still selling fur products in stores).
So, it looks like this year the Met Gala became a platform to debate social and political issues and to actually bring some changes in the industry as well. But aren't we forgetting something? Yes, Covid-19.
To attend all the guests had to be vaccinated and had to test negative, Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck had a masked kiss (something you shouldn't actually do to avoid contaminating masks), and Whoopi Goldberg in a grand ruffled purple cape by Valentino, highlighted the importance of getting vaccinated.
The only bizarre moment came via Twitter when rapper Nicki Minaj, still unvaccinated and therefore unable to attend the gala, posted one of those "my cousin says" stories. The latter involved her cousin in Trinidad who won't get the vaccine as his friend got vaccinated, his testicles became swollen and his wedding was called off. Let's hope her views will change and she will get the vaccine after doing "enough research" as she claimed.
And while it was a shame she wasn't convinced by the Met Gala to take the vaccine, at least the event was more inclusive and political than the previous ones and indirectly pushed a fashion house to pledge it will stop using fur in its collections. So, behind all the glitz and glamour, it looks like this was a gala with a cause that will hopefully change the future ones as well.
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