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Met Gala 2022 Review

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May 2nd 2022 was the first Monday of may, which means the date of the Met Gala, the most anticipated night for fashion lovers. Met Gala is the fundraising event for the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and it takes place every year on the first monday of may with the exception of last year due to corona. For more background information on the Met Gala, I suggest you read Kennedy Smith’s article on the subject in our blog. Today, I will be focusing on the looks we saw this year, and it was not exactly the best but maybe not the worst either.


The theme for this year was part two of the last Met’s theme, In America: An Anthology on Fashion, but with the addition of Gilded Age. The Gilded Age represents the grandiosity and glamour of the 1870s to 1890s. Naturally, everyone was expecting looks honoring the age and the theme, but as always, not everyone read the theme.


I would like to say that, in general, the looks that didn’t get a pass from me were the futuristic ones, bright neon looks (Valentino was a sad fail), or very simplistic gowns that were nowhere near the theme. The Kardashians were also not in the top tier for me (Kourtney could not even get beyond a zero). I am not a fan of Kim’s choice of outfit either with the whole archive dress situation. Kendall tried to carry the family but for me, that wasn’t the best look of hers. Sadly Gigi and Bella were mediocre too. I expected a lot more from the Bridgerton stars as well, considering they might have been familiar with the idea.


You might ask, who are you to judge, and yes, I agree. But at the same time as a fashion lover who looks forward to every Met and actually reads the theme’s meaning, I had a few ideas in my head. I can’t fit every outfit that I liked here but I hope the ones that I chose will give you an overall idea of what I fancied for the biggest night of fashion.


Starting off very, very strong with the co-chair of the night Blake Lively. What can I say? She nails it every single time and this year was no different. The way she co-designed her Atelier Versace dress was mind-blowing. The change she had from bronze to blue to symbolize the Statue of Liberty was the show Met needed this year. "This is detailing from the Empire State Building, some of the draping from the Statue of Liberty...(and) the constellation from Grand Central Station" (Vogue Met Live). I wanted to add her own words to show how much thought she poured into her look. She was the icon of the night, I’ll end with that.




















My second favorite was Laura Harrier with her custom H&M gown. I don’t have much to say besides the fact that she looks stunning and right out of a period drama. It fits to the theme, she carries it elegantly and has the vibe. She makes it look easy to find a dress that works.



Up next, we have some modernized ideas for the Gilded Age, which I appreciated. For example Rosalia had a gorgeous Givenchy gown that had some references to the age with the shoulders and the fabric. Not exactly the best, but not awful either. I also liked Emma Chamberlain’s look. Before you come for me, I want to say that it’s a youthful take on the theme. The top looks like the bust part of the vintage gowns but the skirt could’ve been different. I also loved the Cartier accessories. This was a look pulled from the archives of Louis Vuitton and I think she did a good job with her second Met. I think Normani in Christian Siriano had a similar modernizing take on the theme with the two-piece black look. The hat, the shoulders and the ruffles in the skirt did it for me.
























However, the most out of the box modern look was Dove Cameron’s Iris Van Herpen dress, which took 600 hours to finish. It showed the skeleton of a Gilded Age gown and she definitely stood out from the crowd with the almost creepy but definitely interesting look.









I will say one thing, if you are going to show up looking beautiful, do it like Kaia Gerber or Sydney Sweeney. I’m not sure if Kaia’s Alexander Mcqueen or Sydney’s Tory Burch gown was a full fit to the theme but I know I gasped when I saw Kaia. Sydney was more on the mediocre side but I still appreciated her corset gown that sat beautifully on her. They might have the pretty privilege too.


Last woman and the first man on this list are the Billie and Finneas siblings. They both wore Gucci. Billie looked like she fell out of a period painting whereas Finneas played with the theme with his draping shirt. I loved both of their looks and they were Gucci’s best looks of the night for me.






















Now, when it comes to men, they had the easiest job for the night. The tuxedo style was significant for that era, copy that and you’re good. Obviously some of them just showed up in the most boring suits, whereas some of them tried to be so extra that they fell out of the theme. The theme is not camp anymore and many people need to realize that. I liked Russell Westbrooke’s Thom Browne look. It was a nice addition to play with the skirt and the socks but still staying loyal to the theme. Thom Browne was a good designer choice for the night. Many of the looks from the brand were good fits. I also loved Ben Platt in Christian Cowan. The corset addition was a chef’s kiss if you ask me.




















When it comes to Met, my expectations are high. It’s not just another award ceremony, it’s arguably the most exciting night in fashion and I feel like it should be a place to showcase the creativity linked to the theme, not a place to advertise your brand’s last season’s looks. If they fit the theme, sure. But if they don’t, they can easily make a garment or pull a look from the archives. So if my words seemed a bit harsh, this was the reason. However, overall, I loved some looks, even though not all of them are here. I hated some too. I guess it was just another Met Gala. See you at the next one.


Photos: Vogue/Getty Images


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