By Emma Weidmann | Staff Writer
Earlier this week on the first Monday of May, everyone from A-list celebrities to social media influencers gathered at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City to celebrate the annual Met Gala. Although it’s widely considered to be fashion’s biggest night of the year, the Met Gala also gives attendees the opportunity to miss the mark wildly, which they consistently do.
Being deemed the best dressed at the Met Gala comes down to how well an attendee has stuck to the theme and if they look good doing it. This year, the theme was Gilded Glamor, in homage to the Gilded Age of America which spanned roughly from the 1870s to the early 1900s.
It was a period marked by intense cultural change and the building of new commercial empires, as well as waves of immigration from Europe and the fashioning of a new national identity.
The fashion of the Met should’ve reflected this, but some, like Olivia Rodrigo, skipped a few centuries and rocked a Y-2K inspired look — an iridescent, slim-fitting gown complete with butterfly clips and a smokey eye more reminiscent of Paris Hilton than anything else. It was undeniably gorgeous, but made little sense for the theme.
But, nobody could top the worst-dressed and least on-theme celebrities of the night being Kylie Jenner and Sebastian Stan. Jenner caused a complete meltdown on Twitter by wearing a baseball cap to the Met Gala, which is unacceptable no matter the theme, and was made only more confusing by her pairing it with an actual wedding dress and a mesh top.
Sebastian Stan forewent the theme entirely, donning his brightest highlighter-pink, head-to-toe Valentino outfit. It was as if he lived in an alternate reality in which themes are suggestions and sneakers can be gilded and glamorous. Valentino matched him with actress Glenn Close, who dressed in a hot pink cape paired with a hot pink blouse and pants.
An annual source of disappointment, there was no end to the amount of men who showed up in simple black suits or tuxedos. Anyone from Pete Davidson, Jacob Elordi and Jack Harlow to David Harbour, who looked like he searched up “Monopoly man” on Google and ran with it.
As always, however, co-host of this year’s event Blake Lively executed the theme perfectly. Her look started out as a beautiful copper gown with little cracks of green creeping through, but unfurled and transformed into an almost entirely green dress with a long train covered in subtle copper constellations. Lively’s look was a direct homage to the Statue of Liberty, rooted in the time period itself and as over the top and dramatic as a Met Gala look should be.
One of few others who followed the theme was “Bridgerton’s” Nicola Coughlan, who wore a pink satin Richard Quinn gown whose silhouette mirrored the fashion of the 19th century precisely. Actress Laura Harrier wore a custom H&M gown (yes, really) that proved even fast fashion can outdo established designers when it comes to staying on theme. If H&M can do it, so can Dior.
