ARTS & POP CULTURE

tuftsdaily.com THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2021

The Met Gala’s ‘American Independence’ theme gave celebrity outfits too much freedom

VIA DIMITRIOS KAMBOURIS / GETTY IMAGES

Lil Nas X wears Versace to the 2021 Met Gala.

by Paul Osmond

Staff Writer

Huh?

Everyone has been anxiously waiting for the 2021 Met Gala after COVID-19 postponed last year’s event. With 2019 bringing popularity to camp fashion, many were surprised to see this year’s Gala diverge from eccentric, exaggerated style and adopt the rather unimaginative “American Independence” theme. Even so, there is hardly anything independent about American fashion; certainly, Americans desperately believe that they dominate the international fashion market, though this appears painfully inaccurate. According to Vogue, of the most trending fashion brands of 2021, only one American label – Virgil Abloh’s Off-White – appears among primarily Italian and French designers. And this was unfortunately represented at the Met Gala as the most famous celebrities wore primarily foreign designers. Perhaps, they should have limited the show to strictly young American designers considering the theme was “American Independence.” In any case, neither the American nor foreign designers presented themselves well with this woeful showing.

Now I, as it seems so many others, do not know what “American Independence” means. Rather ambiguous, potentially problematic, I find myself painfully searching for an inclining of substance; unfortunately, the attendants leave little to work with. Nevertheless, there are some outfits which surely appear to exemplify “American Independence”.

Mj Rodriguez and “Pose” (2018–2021) co-star Indya Moore look presidential and powerful in Thom Browne and Saint Laurent respectively; Lupita Nyong’o and Versace draw from the mid-1900s in a sharp denim dress with sparkling accents; Kid Cudi once again references Curt Cobain in a punk-rock ensemble; Jack Harlow looks classy in a satin Tommy Hilfiger suit, mixing rockstar leather and cowboy aesthetics; Helen Lasichanh and Pharrell Williams flex in Chanel; and several men wore classic black-and-white tuxedos – Tom Ford, Heron Preston, Channing Tatum — certainly staples of American fashion; and Lil Nas X marked himself dazzlingly with a three-tiered ensemble: a regal Versace robe, a golden suit of armor, and gold-bedazzled onepiece underneath.

In terms of designers, Iris van Herpen, Versace, Thom Browne and Chanel all excel with classy yet innovative designs. And it was refreshing to see several young American designers appear such as Jonathan Simkhai, ALIÉTTE by Jason Rembert and Pyer Moss by Kerby JeanRaymond.

Although the median swagger was quite low, there were some standout appearances that did not necessarily fit the theme but certainly caught my eyes.

Rihanna and A$AP Rocky look to become the next celebrity power couple with their intelligent ensemble — Rihanna in all-black Balenciaga Couture, Maria Tash, Thelma West and BVLGARI jewelry and A$AP Rocky in a colorful ERL cloak; Vera Wang in Vera Wang is more fascinating than it is beautiful, but it is certainly not something to condemn; Hailee Steinfeld floats as a snowflake in a Iris van Herpen mini-dress; and Frank Ocean remains our style icon in Prada x Homer reminiscent of his 2019 outfit although this time a green robot baby joins his side.

Now, the remaining celebrity looks fall under devastatingly terrible categories: some are dull or drab, some are simply confusing and others took the assignment far too seriously.

Nearly all Stella McCartney pieces were identical: monochrome sheer dresses exposing tight fitting undergarments — not necessarily terrible, but they hardly add anything to the show (although Ella Emhoff looks lovely in her candy-red outfit); Iman brandishes an odd Dolce & Gabbana x Harris Reed piece that looks rather like a fountain of golden feathers; what the hell is Kim Petras’s horse outfit?; Addison Rae looks ready for high school junior prom in an elementary Tom Ford red dress; Ciara bastardizes an otherwise glistening green dress by plastering the details and number from her husband’s Seattle Seahawks jersey; Pete Davidson looks like a grandmother; Jennifer Lopez and Ralph Lauren seem to mash up the worst parts of the cowboy aesthetic; I’m not sure what Lil Baby was doing there; although Cordae was presentable, Naomi Osaka’s outfit and makeup are incredibly dissatisfying; Billie Eilish and Timothée Chalamet certainly did not botch their looks, but they were relatively tame for such coveted celebrities.

This year’s Gala was disastrously disappointing. Whereas 2019 introduced new styles, compositions and designers, completely transforming the couture and streetwear fashion paradigm, I cannot see this year carrying many cultural implications. Many outfits were uninspired, weird or poor interpretations of an overall confused theme.

Well, independence is certainly lovely, but perhaps too much freedom was given this year…