The Met Gala is basically a party for rich people to wear mad expensive clothes and eat a stupidly expensive dinner to raise money for a museum.
But to be fair, I guess each attendant of the Met Gala has a specific reason for going.
Especially if you’re gonna do nonsense like this.
As you can see, the Met is boring for men. Jason Derulo was the entertainment.
All jokes aside though, The Met is an important even for many. There have been movies made about it, documentaries,books, not to mention the endless media coverage both before and after the event has taken place.
The Met Gala is consideredto be one of the most, if not the most, important event in the fashion calendar. People start planning for the Met months in advance, the stress that designers and celebrity stylists go through leading up to the big day is unimaginable and takes months and months of preparation.
Founded by fashion publicist Eleanor Lambert in 1948, The Met Gala was established as a fundraiser to raise money for the Met Costume Institute as well as celebrate the opening of the new fashion exhibit.
After founding New York Fashion Week, the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CDFA) and the International Best Dressed List, it only made sense that she would go on to create such a major event not only just for couture fashion, but the fashion industry as a whole.
What started as a $50 ticketed dinner, has now, 72 years later, become an iconic fashion phenomenon with tickets starting at $35,000. Since its start the Met has seen a vast number of different guests from actors and singers, even royalty.
One thing that the Met Gala is famous for is the extravagant themes which were not introduced until 1973 by Diana Vreeland – the Anna Wintour of her time. Over the years they have ranged from vague and confusing to detailed and specific.
With themes come a certain abstract dress code and it’s up to designers and stylists to ensure that their celebrity clients who adorn these fashions live up to high expectations.
It would be difficult for every attendee to hit the nail on the head when trying to achieve a look that perfectly corresponds with the theme and some celebrity looks have had a disappointing reception on the red carpet.
E.g. Kendall Jenner in 2018
One reason this continues to happen could be the fact that sometimes these themes don’t make any sense.
Over the years they’ve become less specific.
The first ever theme was ‘The World of Balenciaga’ in 1973 which is very obvious.
Then you’ve got themes like ‘Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Art of the In-between. What does that even mean?
Where do I go?
What do I do?
However, the thing to understand about the themes is that everything is open to interpretation so one persons understanding of a theme would differ to another’s.
Nevertheless, sometimes people just don’t get it.
Rihanna, however is always clued in.
It still amazes me that in 2015 when she wore custom Guo Pei couture (which took 50,000 hours to HANDMAKE btw), she was scared to leave her car because everyone looked so basic she thought she had done something wrong.
It’s also important to remember that it is not necessarily down to the attendees to appropriately dress themselves for the Met.
Sometimes if the celeb looks like this, blame the stylist.
For those of us that actually care though, the one thing that the Met Gala can do is disappoint. Especially when people try to follow the theme or be all outlandish to try and stir up a buzz and it just doesn’t bang.
What annoys me the most about the Met Gala is that nowadays any and anybody within the entertainment industry is invited and then all of a sudden they’re given a certain standing in the fashion world and become “fashion icons”.
A word that you clearly can’t throw around too loosely when you see what they wore on the red carpet.
I also hate how the men don’t even try. The women always do the most and the men just wear a tux and call it a day.
However, there have been a few exceptions.
For example, Chadwick Bozeman (R.I.P) in 2019 where he wore a custom Versace suit. The theme for that year was Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination (my favourite Met Gala theme).
All in all, the Met Gala has become a way for everyone from all walks of life, to appreciate fashion in all its glamour and imperfection.
I’m interested to see how this years Met turns out, especially seeing as there wasn’t one last year.
I can’t lie though, if I’m being real…I only care if Rihanna goes.
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