The Met Gala took place last Monday. The theme and fashion was something that I definitely had to talk about. The theme is based off the displayed art, therefore attendees who are invited to the charity event have to dress accordingly. The Met Gala this year was not good. Previous Met Gala themes were easily spotted in the fashion but this year’s was confusing. 

Everyone has been waiting since 2019 for one of the biggest nights on the fashion calendar, after the Gala scheduled for May 4, 2020, was postponed due to COVID-19. This year’s theme was “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion.” The theme was unsatisfactory because I didn’t quite understand the artwork and fashion to me didn’t whatsoever emphasize the pandemic, politics and social injustice movements that were supposed to be achieved. 

This year’s  guest list was strange because I was expecting to see celebrities that usually go, such as Zendaya, Beyoncé, Ariana Grande, Kylie Jenner and more. They shared their reason for not attending but it still would’ve been nice to see their take on American style. As they say, there’s always next year. 

There were many questionable outfit choices that threw me off completely, such as the ones worn by Kim Petras, Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams.​​ From observing the looks, many attendees incorporated flowers, feathers and stars that made their outfit bad. Then, there were attendees’ who understood the memo such as Yara Shahidi, Iman and Anok Yai. 

From reading articles I noticed that many celebrities could have referenced more American designers because there are so many amazing ones out there. Many attendees chose to wear European designers because European fashion is simplified with diverse and elegant cultures. 

 It was important to me that I see gender fluidity in these looks because clothes shouldn’t be assigned to one gender and it makes a statement. Also, body positivity because everyone doesn’t have the same body type. It should be embraced because it encourages everyone to accept themselves and so people can feel included. The American designers who were featured did cover that. Don’t get me wrong, American fashion is beautiful but when I tuned in I expected the fashion to be jaw dropping. Let’s hope that next  year’s benefit theme is intriguing.

If I could have the opportunity to host the Met it would be superior. My themes would be “Wanted Dead or Alive,” “A Picture Tells 100 Words” or “Fashion in the Enchanted Forest.” I’ve heard these potential themes in conversations and thought that they would be steller. For “Wanted Dead or Alive,” the designers would influence the outfits on someone they wanted to come to their dinner party, dead or alive. The people wouldn’t have to dress as that person necessarily but the outfit could show their projects, art, music, etc. If I were to attend my outfit would be inspired by a female African American icon.

For my second theme “A Picture Tells 1000 Words,” the designers would influence the outfits on photography instead of portraits. In fashion you don’t see something like that everyday and it’s creative. I could absolutely see the art being very fascinating and how it could create possibilities for art such as horror, futuristic, Greek mythology, nostalgic, etc.  For “Fashion In the Enchanted Forest” the outfits would be intense but not overly done. The designers would influence the outfits on fairytales, fables, folklore, or mystical elements that are broad enough for variety but can be easily achieved and done right. 

I know my themes for the Met could perfectly be displayed in art because they’re not that hard and it would be something that the artist could have fun with. That’s more than this year’s gala did.