On Monday evening, we got glamorous, glittering eyefuls of ridiculously over-the-top fashions as celebrities worked the red carpet at the Met Gala’s celebration of “camp,” a slippery concept defined by exaggerated, superficial style over substance.
Andrew Bolton, head curator of the Met museum’s Costume Institute, said that defining camp is like trying to sit in the corner of a circular room. But a whole flock of queer celebrities and allies definitely tried, giving us some of the most playful and unforgettable fashions we’ve seen all year.
We already mentioned Billy Porter appearing a a golden-winged Egyptian pharaoh being carried by six shirtless men in gold pants, bracelets, face-coverings and boots. But he was just the tip of the camp iceberg, darlings.
Let’s see how other celebs wore their own versions of “camp”:
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Billy Porter
View this post on InstagramThe Met Gala and All Things Camp (Part 1) Blog ? [Excerpt] The first Monday of May, which means Met Gala Day! The theme for the 71st anniversary of the gala is Camp: Notes on Fashion, based on the 1964 essay written by Susan Sontag, about Camp, the aesthetic. Before we dive into Camp style in art, here’s a brief backstory about the Met Gala, also known as the Costume Institute Gala; In 1946, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Costume Art merged together. Due to questions of whether or not fashion is considered a form of art, the latter is still the only department of the museum that has to fund itself. The annual “Party of the Year,” founded by Eleanor Lambert, brought in the funds necessary to maintain the Costume Institute. Diana Vreeland changed the way the public viewed costume design, allowing it to be seen as art and connecting it to contemporary fashion rather than historical garments on display. The party turned into a “grand fête for both the social and art worlds,” around the early 70s, with Diana’s direction. The gala marks the opening of the annual fashion exhibit that remains open for a few months of the year. Anna Wintour has been co-chairing the Met Gala since 1995, and will be co-chairing this year’s gala with Lady Gaga (singer, songwriter,) Serena Williams (tennis player,) Harry Styles (singer, songwriter,) and Alessandro Michele (creative director, Gucci.) Image Source:@ metmuseum (Instagram) Dimitrios Kambouris and Jamie McCarthy for Getty Images, Vogue/ Met Museum. Blog written by Anaika, Trinity Art Impact, read all 3 parts on www.trinityarts.co https://www.artsy.net https://faculty.georgetown.edu/irvinem/theory/Sontag-NotesOnCamp-1964.html https://www.gq.com #metgala #blog #artblog #met2019 #metmuseum #camp #campstyle #like #campart #artgallery #galleryart #kitsch #ironic #costume #fashion #fashionisart #spring #may #ott #ladygaga #billyporter #art #instaart
Lena Waithe and Kerby Jean-Raymond
Lena Waithe
Laverne Cox
RuPaul
Janelle Monae
Lupita Nyongo
Odell Beckham Jr.
Nicki Minaj
Cardi B
Jared Leto
Ryan Murphy
Katy Perry
Lady Gaga
Ezra Miller
Kendall and Kylie Jenner
Jeremy Scott and Bella Hadid
Lala Anthony
Ciara
Harry Styles
Sarah Paulson
Anderson Paak
Naomi Campbell
Gigi Hadid
Thalia and Maluma
Cara Delevigne
Michael Urie
Alessandro Michele
James Charles
Emma Stone
Natasha Lyonne
Lay Zhang
Tiffany Haddish
Lizzo
Madelaine Petsch
Gisele Bündchen
Benedict Cumberbatch , Sophie Hunter
Lili Reinhart, Cole Sprouse
Priyanka Chopra, Nick Jonas
Ava DuVernay
Kim Kardashian
Kylie Jenner, Travis Scott
Bella Hadid
Alicia Vikander
Natasha Poonawalla
Kendall Jenner
Zoë Kravitz
Yara Shahidi
Zendaya
Gwen Stefani
Lily Rose Depp
Michael Urie
Ella Balinska
Serena Williams
Janet Mock
Lucy Boynton
Camila Morrone
Josephine Skriver
Violet Chachki
Aquaria
Emily Ratajkowski
Billy Porter’s ensemble
Cara Delevingne
We’re sure to be missing a few, so if we left out your favorite, just scream about it in the comments.
mojoswngr
That’s not Chadwick Boseman. It’s designer Kerby Jean-Raymond. He made Lena’s outfit.
ingyaom
The word cringe-worthy comes to mind looking at these pictures. Isn’t this supposed to be a fund-raising event? I’m sure way more money was spent on these ridiculous outfits than was raised for charity.
OzJosh
This is true of even the most modest fundraising events in the US, if you really care to think about it. But so long as you have a political system that does not think government should fund proper healthcare, medical research, care for the disabled and underprivileged, etc. this is what you get.
Brian
Tickets are $35,000 apiece. Plenty of funds were raised. It is possible to do something for a good cause and have fun doing it you know.
justgeo
BTW Black drag Queens did NOT invent camp. Ru etc may have popularized it but was around since late 1800’s
dwes09
Absolutely true. The first appearance of the word was in England, and was used to refer to exaggerated behavior of gay men.
And it is believed to come from the french se camper, meaning “to pose in an exaggerated fashion”.
Camp as an aesthetic evolved slowly among gay men. It most certainly was not invented by black drag queens regardless of how well they express the sensibility. Modern American culture (both high and low) owes a ton of stuff to black people. But not the concept of camp.
OzJosh
Camp also has nothing to do with drag. It’s a sensibility that was largely honed in the UK.
toddlicious
That’s not what Kim Kardashian wore to the Met Galla. It may be what she wore later or after, but she looked like a deep fried turkey in what she arrived in. Don’t believe me? Check my Instagram: toddlicious for the proof.
theafricanwiththemouth
She looked like jewelry in her MET outfit. Beautiful.
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
Ezra Miller certainly was an eye full……
sputnik53
REAL ” camp ” comes from old Hollywood black and white movies from the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s. Movies with a lot of double entendre and men who acted gay. I don’t know what you’d call that style-free mess at The Met Gala but camp wasn’t anywhere to be seen. It was nothing more than a photo op for a bunch of insecure glitterati.
Thank God I’m old.
ingyaom
I think they mistook kitsch for camp (or the other way around).
OzJosh
The actual use of the word “camp” goes back to 1909 – well before any Hollywood movies indulged in a camp sensibility. And notions of camp (including the origins of the word) go back to 1870s London, before movies were even a thing.
theafricanwiththemouth
Ezra Miller, Janelle Monae, Liza Koshy, Lupita N’yongo, Ella Balinska (don’t know her but that Metallic outfit!!), Zendaya, Katy Perry and Miss Laverne were, in my opinion, the best. They looked fantastic in different ways.
Billy porter, i liked only in photos of him being carried, but while standing alone, wings spread (or not), he looked horrible/lame/funny??..
Lady Gaga, three outfits… The pink massive one was lovely. The other two? Yeah let’s forget those unnecessary things.
Finally, HOW DARE YOU? I mean how dare you queerty!! That’s not Chadwick Boseman in the photo with Lena!! Get your eyes checked. Sometimes you guys can be so lackluster, ugh.
dwes09
Zendaya looked incredible. And she was one for the few who looked like she was having a carefree great time.
Monae never doesn’t look great, so it was like a normal night out for her.
theafricanwiththemouth
I agree 100% @dwes09
muscl954
I was under the (mistaken) impression that the Met Gala was an elegant affair. I didn’t realize that it was actually a bad costume party.
Brian
There’s always a theme, so it’s always a bad costume party. It’s the one place celebs can wear the ridiculous outfits that used to be awards show staples.
Itsonlythetruth
Such a waste of money. One outfit more horrible then the other.
Brian
Man, some of these people didn’t even fake an attempt to do something close to the theme.
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
have always beyond hated that those no talented whores, the entire Kartrashian band of abhorrent whores are multi millionaires simply for being non talented whores…
Serena Williams is a miserable ungrateful crunt. A few years back during the US Open this MULTI MILLIONAIRE was comped a $400 meal at a NYC restaurant. She then proceeded to leave and not leave the waitstaff A SINGLE DOLLAR!