The streaming of the Met-Gala is available on my Twitch channel, with commentary in Spanish by me.
After two years of atypical Met Galas, the event returns to its origins and has been held in person on the first Monday of May. This new edition is the second part of last year’s edition, which took place in September under the theme “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion”. So, while this year’s theme continues with American fashion, the second part is called: “In America: An Anthology of Fashion”.
What does this mean for the red carpet, you ask? Well, it means that the dress code was glamour in the Golden Age and attendees were asked to dress about the greatness of the USA during the period between 1870 and 1890.
Much has been said about the explicitness of this theme, as the Met Gala in recent years had become more of an exhibition event than an event in which the Met was the protagonist. In addition, many memes had arisen because of outfits such as Katy Perry dressed as a hamburger and a chandelier, Kim Kardashian in all black without being able to see her face, etc. etc. etc. Therefore, the organizers made sure that all the attendees would be glamorous.
The outfit I was looking forward to
Hayley Bieber, after stopping working with the stylist Maeve Reilly, who turned her into the queen of street style, had given us several very boring red carpets, with dresses that did not stand out and were not at the height of what we were used to. These failures when a change occurs or new styles are explored, are terribly common, but it doesn’t take away from the fact that they keep the public waiting to see if it’s something definitive or if it can be fixed, and we have to admit that Hayley Bieber has certainly fixed it in this outfit for the Met-Gala.
This classic white dress with a shiny finish, halter-neck and open back that features a maxi-slit on the side was a Saint Laurent design. She paired the dress with a feather boa in the same shade. Without a doubt, the outfit shows the luxury and sophistication she has become accustomed to and removes any doubts about her success as a fashion icon. In addition, she provided a nice inspiration for brides who want to get married this spring/summer in a minimalist style.
The Kardashians
I have to say I expected more from them. Khloe wore a dress in keeping with the “gilded age” theme with pretty gold opera gloves and a black ball gown; however, it didn’t stand out compared to the other outfits seen during the night. This is not particularly surprising, as she is not the most prominent of all the sisters on red carpets.
Kendall, on the other hand, was the best dressed of the Kardashians in my opinion. Even though some people thought the dress had vibes of American prom, I thought it was a very romantic dress and fit perfectly in a glamorous and very maximalist opera setting.
Kylie, although she is usually one of the best dressed with Kendall, this year she decided to pay tribute to Virgil Abloh, the recently deceased designer of Off-White, as she was going to wear him to the last met gala. However, the wedding dress she wore with the white cap and veil was a bit too sporty for my taste. That’s why although the Met Gala was a very good place to pay tribute to the designer, the break with the theme made it a rather strange style, which although it could be understood as a reinvention of glamour in the current era, it wasn’t very applauded.
Then there’s Kourtney, who since dating Travis Barker has been exploring a more gothic/rock style that is generally having a lot of success. On this red carpet, however, instead of opting for a gothic-romantic combination, she opted for a cropped shirt and a skirt that was actually an unstructured jacket, it was a good reinterpretation of the traditional male dinner jacket; however, it wasn’t very well received, in my opinion, because aesthetically it didn’t look glamorous or satisfactory.
Finally, we have Kim, who was the last appearance on the red carpet and gave a lot to talk about because she wore a Marilyn Monroe dress. Although there is indeed nothing more iconic in the history of American fashion than Marilyn Monroe, the dress was not in keeping with the era that had been established, it did not fit her although she had not eaten sugars or carbohydrates for the entire previous month (disclaimer: it is bad for your health to stop eating sugars and carbs food for a month to lose 7 kilos and then binge on pizza and doughnuts afterwards) and she had to cover up this situation with a white fur jacket that was not in keeping with the style either.
In my opinion, this dress is iconic, plain and simple because Marilyn Monroe wore it and the only reasons to wear it to this much talked about event is 1 to demonstrate the power that Kim Kardashian currently has, 2 to try to associate her figure with the Icon that Marilyn was and to represent that she is the icon of the current generation, 3 to make a lot of headlines, as has been the case, so that the headlines focus on the Met Gala and not on the trial that was resolved this week between Blac Chyna (Rob Kardashian’s ex-fiancee) and the Kardashian family. Considering the number of headlines and eccentric outfits worn by all the sisters creating a lot of debate, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was a publicity ploy.
The men
Although a large majority of the men wore a three-piece suit, with a black jacket and trousers and waistcoat, bow tie and white shirt; some went all out.
Franklin Leonard, for example, was able to combine a traditional men’s opera costume with a peek-a-boo structure on the jacket that was reminiscent of the dresses of the established era. I have to admit that adapting elements generally considered feminine to be included in men’s outfits always appeals to me.
Shawn Mendes wore a Tommy Hilfiger peacoat coat in navy and burgundy, with each sleeve in a different colour. This was the centrepiece of his understated outfit which, except for that garment, was completely black. For me, this outfit shows that to be elegant on the red carpet and in keeping with the theme you don’t always need a combination of statement pieces, you can go with much simpler elements.
Stormzy knew how to combine a nice white dinner jacket with a cape in the same colour, giving us one of the few white male outfits of the night, which was sincerely appreciated. A look that really lived up to the hype.
Most appropriate outfits
Laura Harrier, her custom H&M dress with corset bodice and the voluminous skirt, has received many compliments. Totally appropriate for the theme, the dress was made from a petticoat from America’s golden age and was created in collaboration with designer Victor Glemaud.
Billie Eilish, wearing a Gucci design, was dressed exactly like the painting of French Madame Poirson, a portrait by John Singer Sargent (American painter) in 1885, which I show you below. It is undoubtedly in keeping with the theme, however, the colours in real life have not convinced me at all, probably because of the contrast between the black, the pastel green and the flower that seems to have been imposed for no reason. I feel I have to include it here because it was one of the most appropriate for the time and the theme, however, I think it’s a shame that after doing “everything right” she ends up looking like she’s wearing a disguise, it probably would have needed a bit of personalisation of the styling.
About Rosalia, her Gyvenchi look fitted perfectly with the theme of the gala and included some references to her musical career, the transparencies and silver of La Fama, the futurism of Saoko, the corset dress of Hentai, and her slim figure as the protagonist. She was undoubtedly one of the best dressed of the night, and the personalization of the dress is even more appreciated when you consider that Rosalía travelled to Paris to share dress ideas with the designer, which obviously creates much more striking outfits.
People dressed in gold, the truth is that there were a lot of people dressed in this colour because the theme is understood as ‘golden glamour’, but realistically at a given moment so many people dressed in the same tone or in black and gold made it excessively repetitive. Here are a few examples, but due to the saturation of people dressed in gold, it’s hard for me to single out any particular one.
My favourites
Genesis Suero was the discovery of the night, the Telemundo reporter came without a doubt, much better prepared than some of the celebrities in attendance. Wearing a dress by New York designer Lucia Rodriguez, she was one of the few who didn’t wear a garish gold colour that was honestly starting to get tiring with each new celebrity gold dress that arrived. A matching hairstyle, discreet make-up and that incredible dress that looked like something out of a fairy tale, made the networks burn and many proclaimed her the queen of the Met-gala.
Nicola Coughlan was the most impressive of the entire Bridgerton cast. She has also achieved something very admirable and that is that at a gala whose theme is that of the series in which she participates, she has been able to assert her personality and her style instead of being abducted by her character, Penelope Featherington. The black and pale pink dress gave her a touch of power, but reaffirmed her sweetness through the second colour, unlike the Hadid sisters, for example, who limited themselves to slightly gothic outfits that conveyed a lot of strength.
Alicia keys, although realistically her outfit didn’t exactly fit the theme of the gala, I have to admit that I fell in love with her cape and it’s really the only reason why I’m putting her in this category. The little silver details (not gold, thank goodness) making the New York skyline, had me with my eyes totally glued to the screen until it was gone.
Blake Lively, of course, triumphed on the red carpet. Being one of the co-hosts she chose a Versace dress that left many of us open-mouthed, totally in keeping with the era and combined with some beautiful copper-coloured opera gloves halfway through the event she transformed it into a completely new dress. Blake Lively decided that her dress was inspired by New York, the city where she lives, more specifically by the Statue of Liberty, which although it is now sky blue, was originally copper, hence the transformation.
Ashton Sanders also wore an outfit very much in keeping with the theme, not only concerning the era but also including a lot of gold details, without being overdone. His outfit was reminiscent of the old generals with the medal, the shoulder details and the stitching decorations, but he also added the small detail of the opera glasses, which gave the impression that he came from one of the events of the Bridgerton series.
Anitta, the Brazilian singer, gave us all a lesson that although she is one of the hottest women on the music scene, she can also rock a conservative opera dress. The colour was exquisite and the pearl details definitely won me over, I think it would be a timeless outfit to attend the opera.
Final Toughts
As was the case last year, American fashion was not as well represented as it could have been on the red carpet, and had little to do with ‘gilded glamour’ and even less to do with the country’s creators, as the majority were big international brands, many of them European.
Overall, what the Met Gala 2022 has shown is that American fashion works best, at least on the red carpet, is through the vindication of its celebrities’ own style and current trends, as the majority decided to vindicate their own style and desires, through displays of power, tributes and wearing brands considered successful.
Those who make direct references to the theme, generally stay on the surface, as we have seen in the army of people dressed in gold. We have also seen cases in which, despite being very well dressed, they have reduced the USA to New York, such as Alicia Keys with her cape or Blake Lively and the Statue of Liberty.
Finally, although it is true that we could have gone much deeper into the theme of “gilded glamour” and explored traditional or emerging American designers, like all Met galas, we were left with very interesting and aesthetically pleasing outfits.
What a great post Kayla!
Lovely, as usual, looking forward for more! 🙂
Kisses XX
Thank you very much for your support! Already writing the next onee <3