Taylor's Met Gala Evolution

Rest in Hiddleswift

The Met Gala - aka the annual fundraising benefit for the Metropolitan Museum of Art held every first Monday in May. Attendees are strictly invite-only. In addition to the opportunity to walk the Gala’s famed red carpet, guests also take in the Met’s annual costume exhibition which informs the dress code ‘theme’ for the evening. This year’s exhibition is “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion” - a collection that will “feature approximately 250 rare items … spanning over 400 years of fashion history” according to Vogue with an emphasis on underlining the “fleeting beauty” of fashion and the importance of the careful preservation process of exceedingly rare and delicate pieces (read: stay away Kim Kardashian and also Ripleys). 

The display informs the official dress code “The Garden of Time”, which takes its inspiration from the J.G. Ballard short story of the same title. Andrew Bolton, curator for the exhibition described the theme as “an ode to nature and the emotional poetics of fashion” and will underline the importance of protecting fashion history through archival and vintage looks while also noting how the concept of secondhand textiles have become a modern trend to preserve the memories of fashion and keep them alive. Clara Strunck for Harper’s Bazaar noted, “The vivid, thought-provoking short story is often seen to act as a metaphor for the evolution of human history and the endless cycle of creation and destruction — a theme clearly mirrored in The Met's Sleeping Beauties exhibition.” Given that much of the exhibition itself will focus on how archivists carefully preserve vintage garments for future admirers, it’s a sad missed opportunity that would speak well to Taylor’s natural vintage style inclinations while also tying in to the Poets of it all - be they tortured or not. Though Vogue staffers mentioned the theme could be “interpreted in a myriad of ways” they still expect to see “many floral and botanical looks [to] grace the famed Met Gala red carpet”. The joke I could make here wouldn’t be very groundbreaking but I’m sure we’re all thinking it. 

Hundreds of people ranging from the very famous to the, “Sorry - who is that?” descend upon the steps of the Met in varying degrees of dress in order to, ideally, impress. Results may vary. Half the fun of the evening is watching style pundits weigh in live on attendees’ thematic dress adherence or ignorance. The grand overseer of the event is Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour who is said to approve of every single look before it hits the red carpet but the fun as a couch commentator is seeing who opted to lean into the ‘costume’ nature of the Met.

Of course, the biggest allure of the night is to see who opted to lean into the ‘costume’ nature of the Met. 

Who opted to just be pretty? 

Who completely misinterpreted the theme? 

And who, like Law Roach, stylist to one of this year’s Met Gala co-chairs Zendaya, will take it upon themselves to take the assignment seriously as a “visual architect” of a celebrity’s public image. 

As an event, the Gala was an event exclusively gatekept for fashion industry professionals only. But when social media platforms levelled the fame playing field, the Gala responded accordingly to broaden its invite list to include digital stars like Emma Chamberlain and Addison Rae who have made virality a legitimate career path. 

This year, the Gala’s courting of content stars has led to controversy.