The Met Gala has come and gone, and with it the giddy excitement resting in the minds of fashion commentators and regular everyday people like you and me.
I must say that my own excitement dwindled as the carpet filled with off-theme gowns and tuxedos and iterations of the same ideas draped themselves of the bodies of some of our favorite celebrities, but where the night seemed to be a let down in its earliest stages, in comes Black fashion to save a night marled by it’s mediocrity and all around disregard for a theme I quite honestly found mundane in its conception.
In America: A Lexicon of Fashion, was the theme and those in attendance at this year’s Met Gala seemed just as confused as the rest of us with it’s meaning. American fashion is arguably one of the most complex areas of fashion in the world. With so much diversity, it is hard to say what exactly is American fashion, and this idea proved itself all night long.
But then, as my hopes dwindled and died hour after long hour of disappointing expensive costumes, in stepped the first piece of fashion that excited me the whole night: Maise Williams.
Williams’ dress was designed by her boyfriend using sustainable materials and methods to create the Matrix inspired look. Draped in black and inspired by The Matrix, Williams’ statement wowed from the moment she stepped onto the carpet.
More time passed and more groans escaped my mouth and once more, I finally found myself in complete and utter shock as Iman walked in, adorned in gold and perhaps one of the most intricate head pieces I have seen in quite some time. Where Williams’ sustainable dress made a statement and commanded the audience, Iman’s incredible statement demanded all eyes keep themselves on her and her goddess-like adornments.
According to an interview published by Vogue, Iman looked to pay homage to the ballroom scene and was looking to declare that she wishes to operate in a space of acceptance. This idea of acceptance is exactly what being in America should mean, and for that, Iman certainly deserves to take home the title of one of the best dressed of the night.
Other great moments included Amanda Gorman’s stunning blue Vera Wang dress which meant to imagine Gorman as a reimagination of the Statue of Liberty; Keke Palmer’s Sergio Hudson look which meant to pay homage to Motown legend Diana Ross, and Normani’s amazing yellow look by Valentino.
As the night crawled to its end, my disappointment had rested a bit and I felt satisfied in knowing that there were some fantastic looks, however as the Vogue live stream ended and E! News coverage came to a close, I felt an emptiness. Why?
Rihanna hadn’t been seen on the red carpet that she has always been deemed the undisputed queen of.
I had given up hope hours before any streams ended as celebrity after celebrity filed their way inside the Met museum, but some small part of me hoped she would still make an appearance even as the red carpet began to shut down.
And then it happened.
In she came draped in cascading ruffles of black curated by Demna Gvasalia for Balenciaga, a bold statment meant to pay homage to Black Hip-Hop. The entity that is Rihanna had done it again. All night, whispers of her appearance skittered across my timeline and whispers became shouts and demands to know where she was, and in true Rihanna fashion she saved perhaps one of the best looks of the night for last.
Black fashion was hotly present all night, designers like Law Roach and Pyer Moss draped over some of our favorite celebrities’ bodies. Lewis Hamilton, a popular racer from the UK wired alongside head Vogue editor Anna Wintour, to ensure that Black designers were able to receive an invite to fashion’s biggest night.
This appreciation and celebration is what In America: A Lexicon of Fashion was meant to show. The confusion and the constant reiterations of old Hollywood were merely dress up games, but those who made a statment saved the night.
Native American model Quannah Chasinghorse won best dressed of the night. Paying homage to her Native ancestry, Chasinghorse wore a Peter Dundas gown and turquoise jewelry as well as traditional paint on her face to state that her reclaiming of her culture is precisely what it means for her to live in America. With Native American culture being constantly erased, Quannah’s statement is all the more important.
The Met Gala remains fashion’s biggest night, but this year, it owes its success and best dressed lists to those who reclaimed, sustained, and declared all night long.