It’s funny: only a few years ago, all anyone wanted to do on the red carpet was look thin, young, and glamorous. But now, because fashion and politics have become so
entangled, and because of the evolution of celebrity stylists into image architects who are practically celebrities themselves, mere handsomeness has gone out the window. Celebrities are now willing to go there, and at the Met Gala last night, they did: there was Kim Kardashian brilliantly sheathed in black by Balenciaga, which turned the most visible and overexposed woman in the history of the world into a giant void. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wore a dress designed by Aurora James, of Brother Vellies, that read “Tax the Rich” on the back, which caused a spiral of outrage and confusion online that seemed somewhat silly by Tuesday afternoon, when President Biden tweeted that “It’s time the super-wealthy and big corporations pay their fair share in taxes.” Why is it so hard for us to square AOC’s progressive politics with her interest in fashion and style? She has made it pretty clear that she is not calling for a world of austerity but rather one that focuses on access—access to healthcare as well as glamour and beauty. (Even the Soviets had perfume, after all!) If anything, the head scratcher is that the dress hewed closer to camp, the theme of 2019’s gala and exhibition, than to this year’s stated expression of the American fashion lexicon.
That theme seemed to coincide with a lower average age of attendee, and also of the designers represented. Emily Adams Bode made the case for American craftsmanship, dressing Lorde in white silk draped with coins and trinkets, and Tyler Mitchell in a red silk suit with slightly bowed shawl collar lapels. Eli Russell Linnetz dressed A$AP Rocky in a parachute quilt cape and a shrunken tuxedo. Probably the most exciting thing about this year’s theme and exhibition is that it will open museum visitors’ eyes to the myriad talented young designers working in America today: ERL and Bode are in the exhibition, as are brands like Eckhaus Latta. The fashion industry tends to frame American fashion as inferior to European, but more ripe for disruption, I think, is the fact that Americans themselves tend to think of fashion and style as frivolous, or at least pointless. (We are very self-centered, and yet abhor vanity.) It’s fun to think about a museum visitor or celebrity style hound looking at all this work, on the red carpet or in the show, and discovering a whole new universe of fashion.