On September 13th, 2021, around 600 celebrities attended the 75th Met Gala in New York City. Many well known personalities attended in extravagant outfits in order to showcase the work of well-known designers as well as to raise money for the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This year, however, the event was said to have some of the “best and most outrageous looks.”
This year, the Met Gala was organized by Vogue Editor-in-Chief, and chairwoman of the Met Gala, Anna Wintour who has organized the event since 1995. Anna Wintour is described as one of the most powerful figures in Fashion today (Britannica). This year’s Gala theme, In America: A Lexicon of Fashion, celebrated and displayed the evolution of American fashion over the years. A committee for the Met Gala created a list of public figures to invite to the event. The list was then given to designers who had already bought tables, which can cost between $200,000 and $300,000. If selected, the designer will dress you in an outfit to go along with the theme, thus allowing them to attend the event for free. If a celebrity chooses to attend the event independent of a designer, they have to pay around $35,000 for a ticket. Overall, if no designer is willing to dress a celebrity, it’s very difficult, and pricey, to get an invite.
Multiple controversies are presented at the Met Gala every year. The most prominent controversy, due to the rise of fame of “influencers” through platforms such as Tik Tok, was whether internet personalities were worthy enough to attend. Another debate was over the attendees’ adherence to the theme of the Gala. Some celebrities, such as Billie Eilish whose dress paid homage to Marilyn Monroe, actually followed the theme of honoring past years of American fashion. However, it seemed that many wore the most outrageous outfits they could think of, such as Kim Kardashians’ full-body blackout suit (NYT).
We have rated our favorite and most outrageous fashion statements in our “Met Gala Top 10.” There is no particular order in the following list.
- Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, designed by Balenciaga:
Kim Kardashian wore a black hooded dress that created mystery and made many question if she rewrote the rules of the Met Gala dress code. Her black dress that covered her entire body, including her face, made it look like she was involved in a bank heist, along with her partner in crime who some people believe is Kayne, who was also wearing a black head-to-toe outfit. Some people, however, believe that this faceless fashion statement was to promote Kanye’s new album, Donda, whose album cover is completely black, like Kim’s grim reaper outfit.
- Kendall Jenner, designed by Givenchy:
Kendall Jenner wore a sheer dress covered in diamonds, head to toe, which was supposedly inspired by Audrey Hepburn’s dress in the 1975 film “Funny Face.” In reality, it looked like she was wearing the diamonds that Kim and Kayne stole during their bank heist adventure.
- Addison Rae, designed by Tom Ford:
Tik Tok star Addison Rae, wore a red corset-like dress that looked quite similar to a dress that was worn by her newest best friend Kourtney Kardashian, on a previous red carpet. Everyone knows that the #1 rule to fashion is to never re-wear something another celebrity has worn and, well, Addison clearly disregarded this rule. While she claims the dress was vintage, although it was only from 2003, the majority of the public thinks the dress was bought from “Shein,” a cheap fast-fashion company. This not only allowed for criticism on the fact that Addison considered clothing from 2003 “vintage,” but it seemed like she wore such a cheap piece of clothing to a high-profile fashion event.
- Timothée Chalamet, designed by Haider Ackermann:
Actor, Timothee Chalamet, looked like he forgot to pack a change of clothes for the Met Gala after working a long shift at a fancy restaurant to pay off the hefty price for his ticket. The Converse he styled along with his chef outfit made him look even more like Linguini from Ratatouille.
- Olivia Rodrigo, designed by Saint Laurent:
Trending artist, Olivia Rodgrio wore a lace one-piece, with a feather bird-like trim at the top, with a bottom resembling Victoria’s Secret Model attire. Along with this punk rock look, Olivia Rodrigo also styled some large, dangling diamond-covered earrings that looked like they were pulling her ear lobes off.
- Lil Nas X, designed by Versace:
Trending artist Lil Nas X went through various costume changes at this year’s Met Gala. One of his intricate ensembles featured a gold armored bodysuit that appeared to be a reincarnated version of Star Wars’ CP30.
- ASAP Rocky, designed by Eli Russell Linnetz:
ASAP Rocky wore a quilt-like cover-up that looked like it was knitted for him by his Grandma during Quarantine. While many celebrities at the Gala wore outfits designed by high-profile designers, it turns out that ASAP Rocky’s quilt wrap was found at a thrift store.
- Billie Eilish, Designed by Oscar de la Renta,
Billie Eilish wore an elegant ball gown dress that was the star of the Met Gala. Her nude pink, flowy ball gown accurately followed the American fashion theme and was heavily inspired by Marilyn Monroe’s fashion sense in the 50s and 60s. Billie’s look this year was quite the switch from years past. In previous red carpet events, Billie had an “emo like” style with black/neon green hair and baggy clothes. At the Gala, Billie surprised everyone with her bobbed blonde hair and princess-like ball gown. She even mentioned she “was very interested in surprising the public with a look she hasn’t done before” (NYT).
- Iman, designed by Dolce and Gabbana x Harris Reed,
Somali-American fashion model Iman wore a stunning and detailed dress that made her look like an Angel. Along with her feathered, princess-like dress, she wore a luminous and grand headpiece full of feathers that looked like a distressed peacock.
- Lily-Rose Depp, designed by Chanel:
Although it looked like Lily-Rose Depp’s outfit was a cross between coming straight from a Hannah Montana concert and having a burger and milkshake at a 60s diner, her two-piece cropped top and skirt perfectly aligned with the evolution of fashion in America.
Sources: