Manic Met Monday
May the Fourth Be With You
Each spring in New York City we eagerly await the first Monday in May for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute’s annual gala and the insane looks on the guests attending. The theme of the exhibit is Costume Art and the gala’s dress code was “fashion is art.” With such a broad theme the attendee’s looks were well…a mess. With a narrower theme is usually a through line that threads everyone’s looks together but this year was a complete hodge podge of outfits as people took widely different approaches to fashion as art. Here are my thoughts on some of the standout looks whether you asked for it or not!
Play Darth Vader’s intro music:
This year’s Met Gala has been even more controversial than usual with the underwriting of it by America’s second most hated (or loved depending on who you ask perhaps) couple Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez Bezos. As a minority woman I really want to celebrate Lauren for making it big but the dastardly deeds that got her husband his wealth coupled with their extreme tackiness have made them personas non grata in my book. It’s ironic that Lauren (with the help of her stylist Law Roach) chose to style herself after the John Singer Sargent painting of Madame X which was considered extremely vulgar for the time. In her custom Schiaparelli that squeezed her body within a millimeter of its life Lauren somehow looked equal parts distasteful and dull. Perhaps history will dull the vulgarity of Mrs Bezos for future generations.
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Tonight was a sad night for wasian excellence. Two of everyone’s favorite wasians, Alysa Liu and Hudson Williams, looked terrible. Hudson wore a matador outfit by Balenciaga with Black Swan makeup, it’s hard to make such a handsome man look bad but this was somehow achieved this evening. Alysa was in some ill-conceived ruffle prom dress monstrosity by Louis Vuitton that was a complete disservice to her vibrant personality. It was too prissy and down right ugly. Luckily both were blessed in the genetic lottery so better luck next time.
Someone who scored a bingo was Chase Infiniti. She looked radiant and fresh in a custom Thom Browne dress that looked as if her body had been painted all over in a rainbow of beaded embroidery. Miss Infiniti was my best dressed of the night.
Evil takes woman form in Karlie Kloss who has been gobbling up fashion media entities to form her own burgeoning empire. Kloss may have looked angelic in a stunning Dior couture gown but don’t be fooled. Her inlaws are none other than Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner as she’s married into the diabolic billionaire Kushner clan.
I loved seeing the South Asian representation at the gala. These are the people with REAL JEWELRY. Isha Ambani was wearing so many diamonds she surely arrived by armored car. She also carried with her a steel mango painted so that it is indistinguishable from the real thing. This could also perhaps double as a weapon should anyone try to rob of her jewels. It’s incredible to see outfits from outside of the Western tradition of dress that add a layer of global flare to the Met Gala. Let’s hope to see even more representation of non-Western dress in years to come.
Connor Storie had the best recycled look. We’ve already seen a million versions of the YSL halter top he wore on every magazine and red carpet the world over. Although he looked so excited and happy to be at the Met Gala for the first time (and his arms looked amazing) I wish he’d worn something a bit more fresh and original. Sorry Connor we’ve seen it before!
I have a soft spot for Sombr. Any man that can pull off a Valentino black lace mock neck top with a sequined cape gets an A+ in my book.
Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor seemed like they would rather be at the Knicks game instead of the Met Gala and wore Knicks colors in show of support…yay sports???
The most apt messaging of the evening came from Sarah Paulson’s look by Matieres Fecales. Paulson wore a dove gray tulle gown with white satin gloves while her face was obscured with a dollar bill mask. Money blinds us.
Styling yourself is no easy task so I applaud Odessa A’zion for always looking original and like herself. However, her Met look…ouch…it looked painful.
Tom Ford reminded us that no one does rugged elegance quite like him. Bravo!
Speaking of designers. It was heartwarming to see Donatella Versace and Alessandro Michele walk the Met steps together. They truly are the King and Kween of camp. You decide who is who.
The Blackpink girls will never not look conventionally hot at…well anything ever. They were all stunning for the Met Gala. Lisa’s look I wasn’t the biggest fan of. She is usually experimental in the hair and makeup department to her detriment and I think it was part of the downfall here but overall she was on theme and looked hot.
Of course Rihanna shut down the carpet wearing Maison Margiela. She looked like an elementary school diorama of the solar system which is fitting since this is just Rihanna’s world and we orbit around her.
Honorable mention of the night goes to: nipples! Every KarJenner minus Kris wore some sort of sculpted nippled bodice. Perhaps a nod to Kim’s nipple bra? Pop Culture is truly in a strange place right now… I also keep coming back to Alexa Chung’s Dior waterlily dress. The perfect nod to Monet and a fabulous representation of Jonathan Anderson’s vision for the House Dior. And lastly how SZA’s outfit was just so..SZA