The Met Gala: Let Them Eat Cake
“The Gilded Age, aka The More Going On The Better”
Fashion’s biggest night this year was an ode to the Met’s exhibit “In America: An Anthology of Fashion,” the follow-up to last year’s exhibit, “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion.” This year’s benefit marked the opening of the second installment in a two-part Met exhibition. Part one of the exhibition “established a modern vocabulary of fashion,” while part two was more retrospective, outlining the historical context that shaped today’s couture. Gilded Glamour is based on the period in America between the 1870s and 1890s known as the Gilded Age, aka The More Going On The Better, a period of rapid prosperity, industrialization and growth.
Upper-class women wore jewel-toned gowns crafted out of a variety of fabrics, including silk, velvet, and satin. Corsets, bustles, feather-adorned hats, and expensive jewelry often completed high-fashion ensembles. Beginning in the 1880s, tuxedos became the norm for formal menswear. The Met Gala is one of fashion's biggest showcases and designers make custom outfits for some of the biggest stars of today. It’s usually one of the biggest sources of advertisements as everyone searches for who their favorite star is wearing. This year, it was also the "the most tone-deaf event ever seen", receiving criticism for its valorization of inequality.
“Some celebrities understood the assignment, and some missed the point entirely –– and as Gen Z we made note of who’s who.”
Critics slammed the Met gala theme for championing lavish wealth amid the backdrop of war, pandemic and economic uncertainty. Some notes however that the theme was taken from Mark Twain's book The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today, pointing to the issues with the time period. “Gilded” means a thin covering of gold veneer, nodding to the hypocrisy of immense wealth and immense income inequality and human rights issues. A perfect parallel to our society today, where Elon Musk is riding into space while much of the country is strategizing how to buy groceries and gas. Some celebrities understood the assignment, and some missed the point entirely –– and as Gen Z we made note of who’s who.
Other celebrities took the first half of the theme literally and covered themselves with gold; Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion, and Khloé Kardashian wore gold-embellished or embroidered gowns. With such a fancy theme, the most out of pocket things that happened that night were the showboating of historic garments like Kim Kardashian wearing Marilyn Monroe‘s infamous John F. Kennedy Happy Birthday dress.
Museum and history buff conservatives were outraged that Kim could even get her hands on something like this but the dress was at the private museum of Ripleys Believe It or Not. She also wasn’t allowed to alter it.
‘Emma said, “let them eat cake!”’
And while People were having a meltdown about Kim K wearing Marylin Monroe’s dress YouTuber Emma Chamberlain wore the Maharaja of Patiala’s diamond choker. The choker, a piece of Indian history, was stolen from him by forces of the British Empire. Wearing a piece of history stolen from its original culture by European colonization and loaned by a luxury jewelry brand with questionable ethics? Emma said, “let them eat cake!”
“At least she was on theme for the Gilded Age where the rich got richer and the poor got poorer.”
Stolen during the colonization of India, the choker was originally a part of the Patiala Necklace, probably the most expensive necklace ever made. The necklace disappeared from the Royal Treasury of Patiala around 1948, and parts of it including the Da Beera diamond, were purchased by Cartier. Cartier was (rightfully) criticized for allowing Chamberlain to wear a “part of India’s stolen history”. At least she was on theme for the Gilded Age where the rich got richer and the poor got poorer.
Another interesting aspect of the evening was that, at both the Gala and the two after-parties, Covid seemed non-existent. There was no proof of vaccination or negative test required for entry, nor were masks required except for staff. What made it worse was the sheer hypocrisy. Even as the city’s movie theaters, Broadway theaters, concert halls, and other venues required masks and proof of vaccination, here were the stars themselves, maskless, enjoying themselves through the night. And that wasn’t even the kicker, Hillary Clinton was at the Met gala while Roe vs Wade died – some things you can’t make up.
“He wasn’t wearing a mask, but we’ll let that slide.”
He wore a peasant ensemble, stating "This is an homage to the immigrant workers who kept the Gilded Age going." He wasn’t wearing a mask, but we’ll let that slide. We’ll also give Sarah Jessica Parker a nod for her Christopher John Rogers dress featuring a corset-style top, off-shoulder sleeves and a billowing skirt. Rogers and Parker were inspired by Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley, an enslaved women who became the first Black female fashion designer in the White House. They said "The idea was to highlight the dichotomy between the extravagant, over-the-top proportions of the time period, and the disparity that was happening in America at the time."
“The contrast of Met Gala tweets and Roe vs Wade being overturned though is absolute proof we are living in a dystopian nightmare.”
While attending the gala, maskless and silently confirming their approval by acceptance of the invitation, we appreciate the effort some stars gave to signal more than just wealth. The contrast of Met Gala tweets and Roe vs Wade being overturned though is absolute proof we are living in a dystopian nightmare. We’re wondering when our ‘elders’ are going to begin acting their age and managing the real issues facing society instead of playing dress up. The fact America is potentially about to overturn Roe vs Wade essentially means anything from same-sex marriage to basic equal rights laws are also now at risk of being rolled back –– but you know what they say, after the plague came the Renaissance!
THE TAKEAWAY
The 2022 Met Gala dubbed "the most tone-deaf event ever seen" has been met with criticism for its valorization of inequality. The celebrities being maskless as support staff were masked, along with the media coverage in the face of the potential overturn of Roe v Wade has many asking whether the social interest in displays of opulence is simply tired. The contrast of Met gala tweets and Roe vs Wade being overturned though is absolute proof we are living in a dystopian nightmare. We’re wondering when our ‘elders’ are going to begin acting their age and managing the real issues facing society instead of playing dress up.