Wednesday, September 15, 2021
Met Gala 2021: Photos from the red carpet
National | Globalnews.ca: Billie Eilish went full glam in a huge peach ball gown at the pandemic-delayed Met Gala on Monday night, while fellow host of the evening Amanda Gorman was breathtaking in cobalt blue custom Vera Wang with a diamond laurel wreath in her hair.
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This article definitely had a more neutral tone on the Gala, it referenced other articles on statements about the various outfit and was more about showing off all that it had to offer. I think everyone had a really big opinion on the gala as a whole and some of the atrocious individual outfits. Even as a costume and clothes designer and lover, I have a real love-hate relationship with high fashion. It doesn’t set a precedent for any real fashion as it is highly inaccessible and generally not meant for most people or bodies. Also, I think that the category of America Independence is a very nondescript category in general. It was almost impossible to tell the theme from just looking at a handful of outfits. To do a country without a strong ethnic culture, it is hard to create a good theme without referencing historical trends which a few celebrities did. In general, I and many others found this Met Gala very disappointing.
I agree with Bunny that this article was more neutral but as I was reading it, I think I would describe it more as bland. I was definitely expecting more from an article titled "Met Gala 2021: Photos from the red carpet". In total there were 9 photos of outfits that donned the red carpet and the last line stated that there were about 400 invitees, down from the usual seven hundred. The article described a lot more of the outfits that were worn but I think that more photos would have made the article much more interesting. If the aim of the article was to include highlights from the red carpet, the title should have portrayed that instead of just saying that it was photos from the red carpet. I was glad to see that in the background of a lot of the photos you could see that event staff were properly masked.
My favorites in this article from the Met Gala this year are definitely Rihanna and A$AP Rocky, and Kim Kardashian. Rihanna never disappoints at the Met Gala, and her large black coat-dress styled with a lace-layered black beanie and diamond jewelry captured functional American streetwear, perfectly juxtaposed with the decorative details and dramatic lower tier & collar of the dress. Rocky’s colorful quilted coat looks soft and comforting, like a homemade family quilt, and feels like a love letter to American grandmothers. Kim Kardashian’s look appears to be a comment on the American obsession with the Kardashians’ bodies, as well as how they feed into the obsession. Her face and the details of her form are obscured by very matte black fabric, highlighting her silhouette and demanding attention in its plainness. Although this year was disappointing, with many celebrities not seeming to follow the theme at least by wearing an American designer, many non-American designers pay to have celebrities wearing their designs so it wasn’t completely unexpected.
I was honestly underwhelmed by this year’s Met Gala. The article did not do a fantastic job of encapsulating the event either. It didn’t even mention the theme, which was of course “American Independence”. In my opinion many put in minimal effort to make a statement. Meanwhile, celebrities like Amandla Stenberg , not even mentioned in this article, nailed the evening. I was also a fan of the unmentioned Lupita Nyong'o’s all denim look. Her entire look was cohesive and her hair and makeup was easily the best of the night. I am disappointed the article did not elaborate on the meaning of Rihanna or A$AP Rocky’s outfits that spoke volumes. Rihanna’s represented a black hoodie, which many black men have been criminalized for. While A$AP Rocky’s quilt represents all of the pieces of culture that make up the nation. To not mention their impactful choices seemed just as disrespectful as to not mention them in the article at.
Looking through the fashion of this Met Gala I feel simultaneously inspired and nauseated. I felt that this theme of American Independence almost invites the press to have a field day. That plus the fact that there were Black Lives Matter protests outside the gala that have not been reported on by fashion or interviewers within the event, the feel of it for lack of a better word was, “icky”. The list of invitees felt broader this year as well, from political figures to social media moguls, it was way more diverse. On a positive note, I enjoyed the creative license that some designers took to send a message. For example AOC’s dress writing Tax the Rich in bold red letters was very powerful and controversial. And it has to be noted that there was a lot of queer representation and expression, and the Met Gala has always been a great opportunity for queer and underrepresented designers to be employed by stylists and make a name for themselves. Overall I just felt that this year provoked a sense of ignorance and tone-deafness.
Much of the discourse I've been reading on the Met Gala has been political, commenting on the protest that occurred just outside the event. This article chose to focus solely on the garments and the inspiration behind them. Part of me felt a little disappointed in the looks, or maybe it was just on how arbitrary the theme felt. I understand it was broad so it could be 'open to interpretation,' but I think that made the night a bit less cohesive. I also find it intersting that some outfits seem to have an extensive background and research process, whereas others like Timothee Chalamet are just like "it's a little bit of everything, like America." Regardless, I still liked looking into the looks and seeing who stepped out of their typical aesthetic, like Billie Eillish. Another point about the Met Gala that I just recently considered was--what happens after the red carpet walk? Is it just a party? Maybe I just don't really understand what a gala is, but I'd be interested to find out.
The article gives an overview of a handful of looks from the Met Gala, with some pictures attached as well as additional descriptions of additional looks. While the text descriptions were helpful to understand the references the looks were making, overall, due to a weak theme, the looks were generally weak and incohesive. According to the article, the theme of “American independence” left ‘plenty of room for interpretation’, however, that just resulted in disparate, off-theme looks. Especially during a year where the whole world is struggling with the pandemic, America particularly, ‘American independence’ seemed like a tone-deaf theme that gave space for tone-deaf looks. In addition to this, this article is titled ‘Photos from the red carpet’, however, spares more sentences on looks there are no photos of. Overall, the article is an acceptable and very brief summary of the gala, which was visually weaker than previous years--a shame considering it is the institute’s 75th anniversary and first ball since 2019.
I mean, the Met Gala on average kinda went downhill since Heavenly Bodies in 2018. This year was honestly? Kind of abysmal. In terms of the Met Gala, a lot of the looks this year were either splendid but did not hit the mark or were bland and did not hit the mark. Of the looks mentioned, I did quite like Jennifer Lopez's and Megan Fox's outfits. I know a lot of people really, really liked Billie Eilish's, but, to be honest, I do not really see the appeal. It is definitely big and fluffy though. Lil Nas X is really channeling the C-3PO this year, I appreciated that. I did like Lorde, I did like Emily Blunt, I did like Tessa Thompson and Lupito Nyong'o and Valentina Sampaio and (sadly) Kendall Jenner. There were definitely good looks this year, it's just that too many of them were not on theme or were weak in connection.
Lol, I know nothing about fashion. The looks are interesting. I hadn’t realized that it has been so long since this event happened… I didn’t really watch or read about it in the past but I bet this is a huge deal for costume designers and fashion icons. I personally have the style of a peanut and fashion sense of a college athlete (even though I haven’t played a sport since middle school). I must say I am very confused by many of these outfits. There are people that are very explorative with fashion which is amazing! Also there is a dog in the back on the picture of Kim Kardashian and honestly that dog stole the show. I want to know who designed the collar! I want to know how long it takes some of these creative teams to put one of these looks together. Are these people sponsored to wear these outfits or do they also have a say in the design process? I think that is fascinating
This year’s met gala left something to be desired. The looks were underwhelming and most of them didn’t even fit the theme. With that being said there were a few standout looks. Elliot Page with the green carnation reminiscent of Oscar Wilde, Nikkie de Jager paying tribute to tribute to trailblazer Marsha P. Johnson, Dan Levy incorporating a look inspired by queer artist and AIDS activist David Wojnarowicz, and AOC in her stunning Tax the Rich dress. These representative designs are a staple of the met gala. Fashion designers have always used the met gala as a statement for what is happening in the world currently and I think that is an important concept that the met gala represents. While most of the looks from this year’s met gala did not serve as much as they usually do, I do believe that some of the looks started a conversation. And the conversations being started are important ones. Coming out of the pandemic a lot of us had hoped for a bigger and bolder met gala but what we got instead was to see the personal changes many went through throughout the pandemic. This definitely holds value.
I have to say I felt as though this year's Met Gala was pretty disappointing. Not many people fit with the theme and many who did simply dressed in red or were incredibly in your face about their outfits. I think this is incredibly applicable to costume design in theatre. The costume being designed must fit with the show, maybe there are motifs within it, everything must be chosen and thought out explicitly with purpose. However, it is easy for the design to lack originality, as seen by the multitude of red dresses, or be too in your face, as seen by many outfits with text all over them. At the same time, a design can also be too far out, such as Frank Ocean and his fake baby, which seemingly had zero relation to the theme. It may have, but that seems more fitting to an art installation, which can have a written piece next to it. Whereas in theatre all that is explained is within the show.
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