When it comes to celebrity high fashion, the Met Gala is the event of the year. Itâs a night where youâre expected to dress in the most extravagant, bizarre and outlandish way possible. Every spring, all the biggest names in pop culture show up to the Metropolitan Museum in New York, turning heads left and right. The Gala is held on the first Monday of May each year. This year, it falls on May 6.
What is the Met Gala?
The Met Gala is a fundraising event parading as a fashion show. It celebrates the opening of the Costume Instituteâs new fashion exhibition each year. The first Costume Institute Benefit was held in 1948 and cost only $50 to enter. The event has since evolved into a much larger, more dramatic display of the best fashion has to offer. Each year, a new theme and dress code is encouraged to tie in with the exhibition. Last yearâs âHeavenly Bodiesâ theme led to some gorgeous, ethereal outfits. This year, the theme is âCamp.â I look forward to seeing how stylists deliver on producing the over-the-top ensembles this theme demands.
So⊠What Is Camp?
Camp, in this context, doesnât mean the summer camp you might have went to as a kid with your friends, or the family camping trip where you had to survive a million mosquitoes at night. This yearâs exhibition theme is inspired by Susan Sontagâs 1964 essay âNotes on âCamp’â. She describes camp as the âlove of the unnatural: of artifice and exaggerationâ. The exhibition will explore how irony, humor and theatricality work with fashion. Camp is ridiculous, fun and playful. So, we can expect some crazy, extra as hell outfits to come out of this theme.
Andrew Bolton is the curator in charge of the Costume Institute. He explains:
âWe are going through an extreme camp moment, and it felt very relevant to the cultural conversation to look at what is often dismissed as empty frivolity but can be actually a very sophisticated and powerful political tool, especially for marginalised cultures.â
Bolton argues that camp has an effect on all parts of life, whether itâs art or politics. He aims to, through the Costume Institute, make camp relevant again.
Whoâs Hosting?
The 2019 Met Gala will be hosted by two fashion icons: Harry Styles and Lady Gaga. Stylesâ fondness for patterned, sparkly suits and Lady Gagaâs history of controversial outfitsâremember the meat dress?âmake them the most appropriate hosts for this yearâs camp theme. The gala will also be sponsored by Gucci. Gucciâs creative director, Alessandro Michele, and tennis star Serena Williams will also be co-chairs of the gala.
The Exhibition
The Metâs âCamp: Notes on Fashionâ exhibition will display roughly 200 pieces of fashion from the 17th century to today. The exhibition will explore the history of camp and the LGBTÂ community, from Versailles to Stonewall, before delving into camp in contemporary designers. Some of the featured designers include Alexander McQueen, Karl Lagerfeld, Virgil Abloh, and more.
The 2019 Met Gala should be a beautiful occasion. Hopefully, we can all take some inspiration from the display of camp fashion, and learn how to add a little spice into our day-to-day outfits. It’s what Harry Styles would want!
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