For every fashion-obsessed person out there, the first Monday in May isn’t just any ordinary day. On this special eve, iconic cultural figures converge on the grounds of the Metropolitan Museum of Art red carpet— or in this case, pink carpet— to celebrate the most acclaimed fashion event of the year. The Costume Institute Benefit, a radiant extravaganza officially known as “The Met Gala” and dubbed “part of the year”, is an annual fundraising event for the Costume Institute which commemorates artistic creation via fashion.
Each year, Met Gala attendees are encouraged to dress in accordance with the theme of the Metropolitan’s annual Costume Institute exhibit, and for the past several years this theme has been selected by Head Curator Andrew Bolton. This year the iconic Bolton has chosen “Camp: Notes on Fashion”, inspired by the brilliant Susan Sontag 1964 essay “Notes on Camp.” To clarify, this word does not refer to a place where wilderness lovers set up tents, or where kids learn how to make s’mores by the campfire. Rather, in the world of fashion this term embraces an entirely different meaning
To paraphrase Sontag’s fifty-eight distinct definitions of the word, camp is used to express exaggerated aesthetics, irony, nostalgia and démodé styles. Harper’s Bazaar editor Lauren Alexis Fisher precisely conveys the significance of camp as she says, “it has everything to do with basking in the fabulousness and humor of being extra.” Last night, Met Gala guests completely fulfilled these expectations as they made “camp” come to life on the Met’s pink carpet. So, without further ado, let’s take a look at some of the best dressed Met stars.
