The Met Gala 2021 is back
New York — After the pandemic shut down fashion’s biggest night in 2020, the Met Gala came back on Monday night albeit a smaller event than years past, and postponed from its typical May date.
Coming off the end of New York Fashion Week, the gala marked the opening of “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion,” this year’s exhibition by the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The show, the first of two installations at the Met celebrating American fashion, opens to the public on Sept. 18 and coincides with the institute’s 75th anniversary.
The soiree has been a welcome celebration for the fashion industry, after the pandemic wreaked havoc on companies’ finances and shuttered important money-making events like in-person fashion shows. To mark the occasion, the fashion, film, television and sports worlds showed up in their best interpretations of the event’s formal dress code: “American Independence.” Among those walking the red carpet were the event’s co-hosts, some of the most recognizable stars today: Billie Eilish, Naomi Osaka, Timothée Chalamet and Amanda Gorman.
The fashion was not without statements. Here are some of the celebrities who sought to make a point with their looks:
Eilish uncharacteristically appeared in an Oscar de la Renta ball gown with conditions. At her urging, the brand will stop all fur sales, The New York Times reports (Eilish is a vegan and animal rights activist). Co-chair Billie Eilish wears an Oscar de la Renta gown with a 15-foot train.
For Osaka, “American Independence” meant honoring her Haitian and Japanese heritage. Osaka’s sister, Mari, helped design the dress, including its Koi fish-inspired print. Mari tells Vogue, “It’s a celebration of cultures, like America itself, a melting pot of so many special and unique elements.”
Rapper Saweetie nodded to her own background with trailing panels evoking the Filipino and Black American heritage flags. Together, she said, they are what make her an “American girl.” Saweetie told red carpet host Keke Palmer that her Christian Cowan caped dress is inspired by the Black American heritage flag and the Filipino flag.
Soccer star Megan Rapinoe opted for the more overt red, white and blue but with a clutch that read “In Gay We Trust.” Designer Sergio Hudson, who famously dressed former first lady Michelle Obama for President Biden’s inauguration and is known for making powerful women look even more fierce, set Rapinoe up with the “one of a kind, American vibe.”
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., arrives with designer Aurora James.
New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, in case you didn’t know, wants to tax the rich — words emblazoned in red on the back of her white gown from designer and activist Aurora James.
Director Ava DuVernay interpreted the theme as an “homage to ‘Black Excellence.’ … From our survival to our joy and everything in between.” She wore an all-black Prada gown with sparkling sleeves.
Next year’s gala is scheduled to happen right on time — May 2, 2022, to mark the May 5 opening of the second Met installation about American fashion, titled In America: An Anthology of Fashion.
