Meeting Theme at the MET Gala
By Lila Schutt
2021 In America: A Lexicon of Fashion
The MET Gala is an exclusive, annual fundraising event for the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute in New York City. The event is organized by the Costume Institute co-chair Anna Wintour, who is the Editor-in-Chief for American Vogue. Every year the head curator of the museum’s costume institute, Andrew Bolton, chooses the theme; this year’s theme was “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion” which was intended to represent the concept of “American independence.” While many attendees and designers use this event to simply show off their artistic looks, I am one who loves to commit to a theme. I will be highlighting what I believe were the best commitments and interpretations of the theme.
Some took the theme literally, such as Blondie front Debbie Harry who incorporated motifs from the American flag, while Vogue editor Hamish Bowles made a homage to the Statue of Liberty and the Victorian era in which it was built. Megan Rapinoe from the U.S. Women’s National Soccer team incorporated red, white, and blue star motifs from the American flag, and flaunted her sexuality through a twist on the U.S. motto on her clutch.
On the other hand, Hän Gwich’in and Oglala Lakota 19-year-old model Quannah Chasinghorse reclaimed the long-colonized vision of American culture through her gown’s silhouette and gold fabric and turquoise and silver jewelry lent to her by her aunt Jocelyn Billy-Upshaw who was a former Miss Navajo Nation. She assisted designer Peter Dundas alongside her mother to create her MET Gala look.
What material can represent American culture more than the staple: DENIM. There were several denim looks but here are a few of my favorites: Lupita Nyong’o in Versace Jeans Couture, CL in Alexander Wang, and designer Kenneth Nicholson
Some took this opportunity to nod their hats to the Western, a popular American film genre depicting cowboys in the 19th century known as the “Old West”. Here are a few of my favorite western-inspired looks: Helen Lasichanh and Pharrell Williams in Chanel, Maluma in Versace and Maria Tash jewelry, and Jennifer Lopez in Ralph Lauren.
Several attendees took the theme to the classic 1930s American Hollywood Glamour era. Gigi Hadid changed her normal blonde for red, resembling the glamorous cartoon character Jessica Rabbit in Prada. Barbie Ferreira wears a pearl encrusted gown by Johnathan Simkhai and classic Hollywood finger waves.
Others chose style and cultural icons from America’s past for inspiration:
Makeup artist Jackie Aina inspired by Barbie and American icon Pamela Anderson in her dress by Fe Noel.
Kendall Jenner’s Givenchy look was inspired by Audrey Hepburn as Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady; Hepburn was ranked by the American Film Institute as the third-greatest female screen legend from the Golden Age of Hollywood despite being British.
My ultimate favorite look from the Gala was Emily Blunt in Miu Miu. She paid tribute to actress and inventor, Hedy Lamarr who improved the traffic light and co-invented an early version of frequency-hopping spread spectrum communication, originally intended for torpedo guidance that would be a basis for Bluetooth, GPS, and wifi technology.
The last tributes I will mention are those to Josephine Baker, who was an American-born French entertainer who had also been a French Resistance spy in World War II and civil rights activist who would also force venues to integrate crowds as she refused to perform for segregated audiences. Tributes were made by Yara Shahidi in Dior and Anok Yai in Oscar de La Renta.
A few celebrity activists used this event and their looks to send a message:
Some of my favorites were theater producer Jordan Roth wearing Michael Sylvan Robinson who wanted to express the versatility and many facets of human identity.
Dan Levy helped designer Jonathan Anderson with Loewe and Cartier to create a look which shows on the front an image of two men kissing from artist and activist David Wojnarovicz’s work, “F*ck You F*ggot F*cker, which was originally based on a homophobic cartoon to instead share an image of gay visibility.
NY Representative Carolyn B. Maloney’s Antonios Couture gown was inspired by the original Women’s Suffrage movement in order to support the Equal Rights Amendment to constitutionally prohibit discrimination based on sex.
The final look I will showcase is Lorde’s Bode look. The designer incorporated sustainability into her look by accessorizing it with American “found objects” including pressed pennies, 1920s cabochons, and 1940s Cracker Jack charms.