The hits and misses of the 2021 Met Gala
Emily Pham reviews.
After a Covid-induced hiatus, America’s biggest fashion event is back – bigger and more colourful than ever. The Met Gala is an annual fundraising gala for the Metropolitan Museum of Arts in New York (that’s right, the place where Blair Waldorf from Gossip Girl was always sitting in front of). The event is the opening of an annual fashion exhibition held by the museum, but it has also been known as the fashion showdown every celebrity wants to be a part of. This year, Met Gala welcomed a whole host of new guests from athletes and actors to politicians and K-Pop stars.
The theme for the 2021 Met Gala was ‘In America: Lexicon of Fashion’ with an official dress code of ‘American Independence’. So, what’s this all about? At the most basic level, the Gala was all about the celebration of American fashion. According to Vogue, Andrew Bolton, the Wendy Yu Curator in Charge of Costume Institute, said the Gala was the perfect opportunity to re-examine American fashion identity “as it has changed over the last several years due to the social justice movement”. In explaining the theme, Bolton told Vogue that he’d “been impressed by how American designers responded to the social and political climate, including issues on racial diversity and gender fluidity” and that American fashion is “undergoing a renaissance”. In order to meet this year’s gala theme, outfits were expected to reflect both a contemporary American fashion aesthetic and the social change occurring in American society.
Let’s take a closer look at the red-carpet hits and misses of the evening.
Hits
Kendall Jenner in Givenchy
Ah, yes, always the highlight of the party. The moment Kendall stepped on the red carpet that night she blew up the Internet. This breathtaking custom-made piece from Matthew Williams, head designer of Givenchy, was a tribute to Audrey Hepburn and her character in My Fair Lady. It took 2500 hours to complete and the result was definitely worth all the effort. What I love most about this was how Williams took a classy design and elegantly transformed it into a more contemporary piece to fit on a totally different body type, while still maintaining the spirit of the costume - definitely a winner.
Yara Shahidi in Dior
I did not have high hopes for Maria Grazia Chiuri’s designs following Dior’s disappointing previous Haute Couture collections, yet the look adorned by Yara Shahidi was definitely a gem. The newly Dior global ambassador had a very convincing debut at Met Gala, with a custom-made Dior gown by the maison’s creative director. Taking inspiration from Josephine Baker – entertainer, French Resistance agent and civil rights activist – the dress showcased the glamour of the Hollywood’s Golden Age and paid tribute to a powerful icon. Another stunning homage to America’s history.
Iman in Harris Reed x Dolce & Gabbana
Stealing the show in the first hours of the gala, Iman really proved to us that age is just a number. The 66-year-old looked gorgeous in a custom-made feather cage, paired with gold trousers and an extravagant headpiece. The Harris Reed x Dolce & Gabbana piece was a striking reference to American ballroom culture and “romanticism gone non-binary”, with Iman living up to both the gala’s theme and some serious fashion excellence.
Rihanna and Asap Rocky
Although Vogue claimed these outfits were “rule-breaking”, I personally don’t think they were. If anyone can sum up America during the Covid era in a single set of outfits, it’s Rihanna and A$ap Rocky. Rihanna wore a very cosy black rope from Balenciaga while A$ap Rocky donned a whole custom-made blanket, designed by young designer Eli Russell Linnetz. Together, the outfits represented America’s stay-at-home lounge culture amidst the pandemic.
Nikkietutorials
Honouring an American historical figure seemed to be the approach many celebrities have chosen this year, and Nikkietutorials was one of them. The famous beauty YouTuber looked stunning in a turquoise tulle mermaid gown by designer Edwin Oudshoorn, with a ribbon written “Pay it no mind” attached, and a floral crown. The costume was later revealed as a tribute to a LGBTQ+ activist and trans icon, Marsha P. Johnson, and I must admit it was one of the highlights of tyhe night too. The dress, the makeup, and the accessories came together and created a meaningful yet also aesthetically pleasing look.
Other notable hits: Kaia Gerber in Oscar de la Renta, Emily Blunt in Miu Miu, Billie Eilish in Oscar de la Renta, Lil Nas X in Versace, and Debbie Harry in Zac Posen.
Misses
Naomi Osaka in Louis Vuitton
Being one of Met Gala’s hosts this year, professional tennis player Naomi Osaka decided to bring her cultural origin on the red carpet with a custom-made Louis Vuitton gown. Osaka’s look was a stunning nod to her Japanese American heritage but didn’t quite serve up a coherent look. Whilst her outfit was certainly a notable one, I fear that the outfit along with the creative decisions behind hair and makeup lacked synergy.
Maisie Williams
Wearing a dress designed by her boyfriend, Rueben Selby, Williams certainly made a statement – but perhaps not the best kind. The actress was almost unrecognisable in her Matrix-inspired look (and bleached eyebrows) and the gothic number sadly didn’t meet the assignment. While I understand the dark approach in Selby and Williams’ look on American fashion, I honestly don’t think the dress was effective, nor a successful homage to an iconic movie series.
Pretty much anyone wearing Saint Laurent
I’m sorry if this sounds like dropping a bomb, but truth is Saint Laurent looks were really underwhelming (except the studded slip dress on Zoe Kravitz). Their black dresses were not exactly ugly; rather, they were somewhat unadventurous and tasteless with no presence on the red carpet beyond the celebrity of those wearing them. Anthony Vaccarello has never been known for following the dress code, so it came as no surprise that there was no obvious adherence to “American fashion” in the outfits. While they claimed the dresses were modified versions of LBD (little black dress), a classic American item, the fact that these were all taken from the previous Saint Laurent ready-to-wear collections makes it seem more like an excuse rather than actual inspiration.
Other notable misses: Kristen Stewart in Chanel, Kim Petras in Collina Strada, Camilla Cabello and Shawn Mendes in Michael Kors, Whoopi Goldberg in Valentino.