As the pandemic continues to loom over our heads and the effects of climate change in the U.S. becomes more extreme, the richest and most famous Americans gathered for an extravagant event to show off their thousand dollar outfits.
Welcome to the Met Gala, an annual fundraising event hosted by The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute to promote fashion, according to a Sept. 13 article from The Cut.
However, most people like myself see it as an event where the U.S’s wealthiest get the night of their lives and the rest of us are reminded of our peasant statuses.
After a four-month delay because of the coronavirus pandemic, this year the Met Gala occurred on a modest Monday in New York City and it’s theme was “In America: a Lexicon of Fashion,” according to a Sept. 13 British Vogue article.
While some celebrities made political statements surrounded by expensive jewelry in a grand hall, protesters right outside the Met Gala were demanding police accountability.
“Black and brown people are on the brink of houselessness. We cannot go back to normal. Where was your rage last year?,” yelled Ella, a protester outside the event, according to a Sept. 17 Teen Vogue article.
What can be more American than protests and an obscene show of wealth happening within just feet of one another?
Every year when the Met Gala comes around, social media ignites with conversations about which dress was the best and which was the worst. Celebrities are aware they could get made fun of so they spend big bucks to try and get on the best dressed list.
But do celebrities honestly need another reason to show off their excessive wealth? I don’t think so.
They have more than ample opportunities to wear designer clothes, especially since New York Fashion Week occurred the week before.
And, there are many other ways to fundraise including a donation drive or even a benefit concert, which I am sure the public will enjoy even more.
I guess in their mind they feel as if this one night allows them to dress up and boast about their lavish lifestyles without feeling guilty because everyone else is doing it too.
This year’s co-chairs were none other than actor Timothée Chalamet, pop sensation Billie Eilish, poet laureate Amanda Gorman, Japanese tennis athlete Naomi Osaka and Vogue’s Editor in Chief Anna Wintour, according to a Sept. 14 British Vogue article.
Individual tickets to the Met Gala cost about $35,000 and a table can cost up to $275,000. Attendance has to be exclusively approved by Wintour herself, according to the same article from The Cut.
The only people exempt from the outrageous prices are those who are invited.
For argument purposes, let’s say from the 600 attendees, only half are invited. For 300 people, that’s $9 million raised for a fashion institute. While I am all for promoting art, it seems a bit ridiculous that a costume institute would need that much money to elevate fashion.
It feels as though the money just circulates back to the rich.
Would all that money raised be better paying off the $96 billion cost of damages from Hurricane Ida?
Who can say?
The entire event felt like a scene out of the Hunger Games. While the 150,000 homeless people in California struggle to find their next meals, the top 1% can enjoy a night of fine dining, expensive outfits and socialization.
Aside from the public uniting to discuss and make fun of celebrities, there doesn’t seem to be many other positives to having the Met Gala.
Perhaps the most talked about outfits were the ones that were political statements. New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wore a white dress with “tax the rich” written in red on the back.
Meanwhile, model and actress Cara Delevingne called for the end of the patriarchy by wearing a white bulletproof vest with the words “peg the patriarchy.”
It was ironic for Delevingne to wear a top that said “peg the patriarchy” considering that she stole the phrase from a woman of color who had trademarked the phrase in Canada in 2017, according to Sept. 15 Refinery 29 article.
Therefore, the statement felt performative and incredibly tone-deaf. Statements including Delevingne’s feel inauthentic, especially when they don’t take the time to uplift other women.
While these statements were admirable, it does beg the question of whether it was the right time and place to make them.
Aside from Ocasio-Cortez who has been very visibly serving her community, it seemed hypocritical for some celebrities to attend the event and don the “activist” look.
Ocasio-Cortez said in a Sept. 16 Instagram post her decision about the dress came from asking herself, “How do we inject urgent conversations of race, class, climate and justice into an event that is both one of the largest spectacles of excess in the world, yet takes place in and benefits an institution that serves the public.”
I’m not saying these celebrities don’t care about social issues, I’m sure they do but the medium in which they decide to spread awareness feels inauthentic.
The Met Gala should be abolished. Instead, celebrities should make donations directly to a proposed cause rather than attending an event that also allows them to flaunt their wealth. We already see enough celebrity wealth as is.
