The annual Metropolitan Gala is an event that is often recognized as the pinnacle of red carpet fashion. Over the years, the Metropolitan Gala has become known for its lavish and ravishing fashion. Many stars and well-known public figures collaborate with luxury designer brands to create a look that will stun everyone. The Gala has earned itself the nickname: “The Oscars of the Fashion World.”
Each year, the Metropolitan Gala, or “Met Gala”, draws together over 650 celebrities for a fundraiser for New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Arts for the benefit of its costume institute. This Gala marks the opening of the museum’s Annual Fashion exhibit. The Met Gala is traditionally held in late May, but due to covid, was scheduled for a later September date.
Met Gala’s traditionally has a theme. The 2018 theme was “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and Catholic Imagination.” The 2019 theme was “Camp: Notes on Fashion”. This year’s theme was a patriotic tribute to the United States with the theme of “American independence”. Stars were requested to wear their choice of clothing that they believe best embodied America.
Some Met Gala fans thought that the theme was well represented, and others thought that this year was a bit of a letdown. New Castle Pheonix writer Isabella Mattingly believes that “This year was kind of a down year for me. I don’t think that many people really followed the theme very well.” One thing’s for sure: This year, designers tried to put their best foot forward.
Many stars had deep symbolism behind their outfits, with many political, historical, and flat-out mind-boggling ensembles Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez’s white dress had “tax the rich” scratched out in red on the back of it. Actor Dan Levy sported an outfit that was a map of the world with an outline of two men kissing on it. Meghan Fox simply stated that her dress was American-themed because she herself, an American, was wearing it. Music artist Lil Nas X wore a 3 piece golden Verache Ensemble, while Kim Kardashian wore a head-to-toe black gown that partly resembles being wrapped up in a black curtain.
Other Noticeable outfits were Frank Ocean’s green baby doll that he carried with him on the red carpet, which supposedly symbolized the government’s recently released report on extraterrestrial beings. Olympic Gold Medalist gymnast Simone Biles wore a supposedly 88-pound diamond-studded dress. Japanese tennis player Naiomi Osaka’s hair was her main attraction, which made her appear as if struck by lightning. Amanda Gordmon stunned as usual, wearing a sparkly blue dress. Kim Petra’s dress has a bodice that had a sculpture of a horse. Whoopi Goldberg in her usual fashion, wore a cupcake of a dress, with many layers of green, blue, and purple fabric. Asap Rocky, dressed in ERL, simply looked like he had a Fruity-Pebbles-inspired quilt wrapped around him.
Many agree that some of this year’s best dressed were Billie Ellish, Iman, Emma Chamberlain, Rihanna, Kendall Jenner, and Anok Yai. New Castle High School Phoenix writer Mckenzie Lewis says that Billie Ellish was the undeniable best dressed. Singer/songwriter Billie Eilish was wearing a cream-colored ball gown that was inspired by Marilyn Monroe. Model Iman wore a sun-goddess-inspired dress with a ginormous headpiece almost bigger than the dress itself. As one of the biggest fashion influencers at only 20, Emma Chamberlain was in a short, diamond-studded golden dress that made her appear as if she was glowing. Singer Rihanna was in Balenciaga, and Supermodel Kendall Jenner in Givenchy and fellow model Anok Yai was in a black star-spangled dress.
