Here’s the theme of the 2019 Met Gala, drawn from the new exhibit and defining the red carpet looks.
Every year, the Metropolitan Museum of Art hosts the Costume Institute Gala — known colloquially as the Met Gala. Designers, artists, and celebrities from all genres come together to celebrate the museum’s new exhibit, but really, it’s show off fabulous fashion tied to the theme of the art.
The theme of the annual Met Gala is probably one of the most important announcements in terms of fashion for any type of red carpet. What the celebrities wear on their way into the event is bigger even than what is worn on the red carpet for the Academy Awards. The attire tends to be dramatic, over the top, and if you do it like you’re supposed to — on theme.
This year’s theme is “Camp: Notes on Fashion” which was inspired by Susan Sontag’s 1964 essay ‘Notes on ‘Camp’ and really who knows what these amazing designers will come up with this year.
“We are going through an extreme camp moment,” said curator Andrew Bolton. “It felt very relevant to the cultural conversation to look at what is often dismissed as empty frivolity but can be actually a very sophisticated and powerful political tool, especially for marginalized cultures.”
Here are a few of the previous year’s themes:
- 2018 – “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination”
- 2017 – “Rei Kawakubo & Comme des Garçons”
- 2016 – “Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology”
- 2015 – “China: Through the Looking Glass” (This theme caused some controversy over potential cultural appropriation faux pas)
In case you are an avid watcher of the red carpet, you might be interested to note that a few famous regulars won’t be attending this year. Rihanna is rumored to not be attending, which means we won’t see her typical show-stopping number. Also, actress Sarah Jessica Parker and her annual date, Andy Cohen, also won’t be walking for 2019.
The whole red carpet can be watched live starting on Monday, May 6, 2019, at 7 pm ET. The whole carpet will be aired on E! as wells as on Vogue’s Twitter, Youtube and Facebook social media accounts.