The biggest fashion event of the year usually takes place on the first Monday of May but due to the ranging pandemic it was cancelled last year and postponed this year for the same reason. Leaving it to take place in the middle of fashion month with only a third of the amount of guests that usually attend. We’re of course talking about the Met Gala 2021.
The Met Gala is a fundraising benefit for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City where stars, young creatives and industry paragons are invited. This year the Costume Institute will host a two-part exhibition on the theme American fashion. Part one, “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion,” will open in the Anna Wintour Costume Center on September 18, 2021, and will remain on display when “In America: An Anthology of Fashion,” opens on May 5, 2022 in the period rooms of the American Wing.
The theme for this year was “American Independence” which gave the attendees the ability to let their imagination roam free to interpret their founding fathers, Lady Liberty and all things red, white and blue. Even so, no look was like the other. We had Billie Eilish, a Marilyn Monroe vision in her blonde cropped hairdo and peachy tulle ballgown from Oscar de la Renta. Gemma Chan in a dragon-embroidered Prabal Gurunge dress that paid homage to Anna May Wong, the first Chinese-American star of Hollywood’s golden era. We can’t talk about the Met Gala 2021 and not mention Kim K’s head to toe t-shirt dress from Balenciaga, covering every inch of her body. Was it beautiful? No. Did it make a statement? Yes. And isn’t that what America is all about? To embrace individuality, freedom of speech, religion and the list goes on. The red carpet was in a way a walking, fashionable, demonstration with statements. Both more discreetly through looks with a deeper meaning but also messages written directly on the clothes. Like Cara Delevinge in her power suit from Dior with the message “Peg the Patriarchy” and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in Brother Vellies with “Tax the Rich” on her back.
Fashion is a language. It communicates who we are, how we feel and what we want to radiate. It’s the most complex language there is and only the ones who truly look beyond the clothes on the person’s back will be able to tell the story being told through an outfit. But of course, sometimes fashion is nothing more than just really beautiful pieces to look at, and we thank the yearly Met Gala for giving us both.
