This past Monday was the first of May, and you know what that means, it’s time for fashions biggest star-studded event of the year, The Met Gala. We all knew with this year’s theme it was sure to be an interesting red carpet, and the A-listers did not disappoint.
For anyone who’s wondering what the heck the Met Gala is, and why people care about it, you’re not alone. So I’ll give you a quick overview of what the Met Gala is all about. In short, the Met Gala is “the party of the year,” but it’s actually become so much more than that. The Gala itself is an annual fundraiser put on by the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the theme of the event coincides with that year’s fashion exhibit. Themes can range from types of fashion like Untailored Garments to individual designers like this years’ Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons. The event wasn’t as big and full of VIP’s until Anna Wintour (Editor-and-Chief of Vogue and Artistic Director of Condé Nast) became the chairman in 1999. The Met Gala has become such an important gathering because it not only a represents where we are in fashion but in culture too. That’s not to say the event hasn’t had it controversy’s, but in the end it’s all for the love of fashion. Oh, and did I mention a single tickets costs upwards of $30,000.
The Met Gala’s exhibit this year was a homage to the Japanese designer Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons. Hence why this year’s guests were told to dress avant-garde and to draw inspiration from or pay tribute to Rei Kawakubo herself. The 74-year-old designer is the second designer to have a gala dedicated to her while she’s still alive; this is due to Kawakubo’s crucial contributions to the world of art and fashion. What’s so special about her designs you ask? Well, just about everything. Since 1973 when she created Comme des Garçons she has been breaking the rules, and challenging what we know as fashion. Kawakubo pushes our social constructs like beauty and gender so far away from what we’ve come to accept as normal. She is quite known for “anti-fashion” and her ability to go where no other designer dares to go, blurring the line between fashion and art. Comme des Garçon runway shows always have a greater meaning behind them than what meets the eye. And for those reasons and many others she was chose to be the spotlight of the exhibit and evening.
(Comme des Garçons Fall 2017 Ready-to-Wear)
(Comme des Garçons Fall 2013 Ready-to-Wear)
(Comme des Garçons Fall 1995 Ready-to-Wear)
Now that we have the intense stuff out of the way, let’s talk about what we saw on the red carpet.
Trends
Trains and more trains
(Priyanka Chopra in Ralph Lauren)
(Blake Lively in Atelier Versace)
The most easily recognized trend we saw on the red carpet was the excessively long trains. From extended trench coats to beautiful blue feathers, some of the most stunning dresses of the night included trains.
Baring it all
(Bella Hadid in Alexander Wang)
Modesty is overated, and we have the pictures of Kendall Jenner to prove it. Two of the most talked about garments of the night were worn by Bella Hadid and Kendall Jenner. Halle Berry also had a stunning sheer dress that followed the dress code wonderfully. And while I wouldn’t call Kendall’s or Bella’s dress necessarily avant-garde, they still looked great.
Blondie
(Zoë Kravitz in Oscar de la Renta)
A trend no one really expected was the short blonde cut we saw on so many celebs Monday night. From Katy Perry to Kylie Jenner they all looked incredible (and more aerodynamic). My personal favorite was Zoë Kravitz, the short blond hair looks spectacular on her.
The Extravagant
A special shout out to all the guests who followed the theme beautifully, here are some of my personal favorite rule followers:
(Katy Perry in Maison Margiela)
(Helen Lasichanh and Pharrell Williams in Comme des Garçons)
The best of the best:
1. There’s no doubt that Rhianna stole the show with her Comme des Garçon dress that night so it’s only right that I put her in first place, she deserves it.
(Rihanna in a Comme des Garçons)
2. Zendaya’s tropical dress was a showstopper. She can do no wrong from her hair to her shoes, everything Zendaya does looks beautiful and effortless.
(Zendaya in Dolce & Gabbana Alta Moda)
3. Solange’s dress was so interesting and avant-garde that I had to put it in the top 3, she looked amazing.
(Solange Knowles in Thom Browne)
4. I was blown away by Rose Byrne’s dress, it fit so perfectly it looked hand-crafted for her.
5. I was blown away when I saw Doutzen Kroes’ dress, it isn’t completely avant-garde but I’ll let this one slide.
(Doutzen Kroes in Brock Collection)
6. Ruth Negga’s Valentino cape was jaw-dropping; she looked like royalty.
7. I love everything about Gigi Hadid’s outfit, right down to the thigh high fishnets.
(Gigi Hadid in Tommy Hilfiger)
The Extra (in a good way)
Jaden’s hair
(Jaden Smith in Louis Vuitton)
Jaden Smith recently cut off his signature hair for an upcoming role, and what better to commemorate the experience than by bring his locks to the Met Gala? We knew the innovative Smith was going to do something interesting, we just didn’t know it would be this. While it might seem weird, but it kind of makes sense with the theme if you look at Rei Kawakubo anti-fashion methodology, and over all strangeness.
Activist on the red carpet
(Yeonmi Park in Alexis Mabille)
That’s right, the co-founder and chief product officer of Airbnb brought Yeonmi Park, a noted activist and refugee from North Korea. The idea behind this was said to bring human rights into pop culture and more notably into the public eye.
P. Diddy
Perhaps the most uh… interesting moment on the red carpet happened when P. Diddy laid down on the steps of the met while his date Cassie was having her pictures taken. Talk about making yourself comfortable.
The Migos
Not only did the Migos become the first rap trio to perform at the event, they also were incredibly bling’d out. Quavo specifically had a diamond necklace of himself in a chef hat holding ratatouille, and a diamond Yoda as well.