Each year I write about the The Met Gala, (the annual benefit event for the Costume Institute, held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York), because it is considered one of the world’s biggest fashion events.
It is known for its exclusive guest list, its expensive tickets and – most of all – its extravagant outfits, based on a different theme each year. This year, that theme was “Camp”.
Imagine a style exhibition, based on irony, humour, parody, pastiche, artifice, theatricality and exaggeration. The hallmark of camp is the spirit of extravagance. Camp is esoteric – something of a private code, a badge of identity even, among small urban cliques.
Showing everyone how it was done at the very start of the night was Lady Gaga, who arrived in a billowing pink outfit that was not quite what it seemed at first glance. I could write an entire article about Gaga’s outfits, but we’d be here all day and she’s been well covered. So let’s take a look at some of the others.
Katy Perry turned up as a chandelier. Not just one but two chandeliers in fact. One on her head and one around her waist. The outfit was made in collaboration with Moschino’s Jeremy Scott, who has dressed Perry for the Met Gala several times before.
What most people were wondering was how on earth Perry would manage to sit down for dinner. But she had that covered, with a costume change that saw her morph into a giant burger.
In other costume news, it’s worth noting how lucky it was that Celine didn’t turn up carrying a tent. “At first I was a little bit confused when I heard camp. I wasn’t sure what it meant” she ‘claimed’…
Once she had established she didn’t need to bring a sleeping bag, Celine enlisted fashion house Oscar de la Renta for a dress that took 3,000 hours to create. The result was a champagne-coloured bodysuit, embellished with silvery sequins and a hat made of gold-tinted singed peacock feathers.
Cardi B wore a floor-length oxblood custom Thom Browne gown, made from tulle and silk organza and filled with down, which featured a mammoth train flowing in concentric circles. It took 35 people more than 2,000 hours to make. She likes it like that.
Model Cara Delevingne’s rainbow theme was a nod to the LGBT flag, and the Pride-inspired stripes were completed with similarly multi-coloured platform heels and a Swarovski crystal cane.
The ensemble features in Dior’s haute couture spring/summer 2019 collection. Perhaps the most eye-catching part of her outfit, however, was her hat. The headpiece, made by Machine Dazzle, featured fried eggs, eyeballs, false teeth and bunches of bananas.
Camp.
But the biggest Campfest of the night goes to Harry Styles.
Harry went all out Gucci.
After such a colourful tour wardrobe, Harry took traditional feminine elements like frills, heeled boots, sheer fabric and pearl earrings, rephrasing them as masculine pieces set against the high-waisted tailored trousers and his tattoos.
The look is elegant, it’s camp, but still Harry.
As usual, Kanye West looked absolutely elated to be posing for photographs. Wife Kim Kardashian dressed to impress, with a skin-coloured Maison Mugler design that guaranteed she was the centre of attention.Her “wet look” came complete with beads giving the impression of raindrops washing over her nude body.
Kanye, meanwhile, opted for a simple black jacket that costs less than £40. So at least that’s one outfit that we might just be able to afford.
It’s all great fun and I say, bring on 2020!
