The Good, The Better and The Gaga: Met Gala 2019

The Met Gala 2019 Review and its best outfits according to Hattie Nixon.

The Met Gala is the annual fundraising gala held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, held by Vogue on the first Monday of May every year. This year, the theme was ‘Camp: Notes on Fashion'. No, not camp as in marshmallows, fire pits and Kum Ba Yah. Camp as in dramatic makeup, feathers, perfectly executed performances (I'm looking at you GAGA!) and overall, an understanding of the history of camp.

A quick Google search can tell you that the camp style is an aesthetic, which is perhaps ironic because of its bad taste. Susan Sontag said that camp fashion is explored through "how irony, humour, parody, pastiche, artifice, theatricality and exaggeration are expressed in fashion". Camp is ultimately stating "that you can bring the queen to the ball, but you can't make her Vogue." (Vogue)

As I scrolled through Instagram, Vogue, Vogue Runway and live recordings from Manrepeller, I was in complete awe of how so many different celebrities had their spin on this fantastic theme. I totally appreciated the amount of work that went into each look that was seen on the (pink!) carpet, and the cost of outfits and time put in. However, I can't say every look even attempted to hit the standard of what camp is. But! We did get some incredible looks from the night. From Billy Porter's entrance to Lupita's eyebrows, let's dive into my personal favourites from the night. 

1. Lady Gaga

Honestly, I am a sucker for anything Gaga does. Arrive in an egg? Go, Gaga! Meat dress? Yes! Be the first woman to win all five major awards in the award season? Gaga forever! I always love what she puts together, and a 16-minute performance, with four different outfit changes is something I totally expected but was not ready for! She went for it (like she always does) and the entire thing was executed perfectly. Her four outfits consisted of a 25-foot train, a Hollywood black strapless dress, a Barbie pink slip dress and crystal underwear, all paired with a platinum wig. The makeup was nonetheless the most show-stopping of it all.  I loved how Sarah Tanno incorporated long foil lashes into a cat eye effect and finished it off with a beautiful pink lipstick. In my eyes, Gaga can do no wrong and I was the most impressed with this outfit.

2.   Lupita Nyong'o

I have been a fan of Lupita for a long time. I loved her look from last year and this year was no different! We can definitely see how Marie Antoinette, who was known for extravagance, was one of her inspirations. Her outfit "reimagined the French queen's flair for theatrics in a frothy, fluorescent rainbow Versace gown and radically idiosyncratic beauty ". (Vogue) Her gorgeous dress was paired with liquorice lips, with cancelled out brows, that were then raised above the brow bone, and her lids were saturated with a metallic rose and silver glitter look. Her hair was especially phenomenal too.

3.  Darren Criss

I was so struck by this outfit by Darren Criss, I truly loved it. He loves fashion and isn't afraid to just go for it. And damn, he got the memo! His makeup matched his outfit – I loved the bow, the jacket, the subtle lipstick swatch on his bottom lip, all of it! He really owned his look and the carpet, and I was so impressed.

4. Tiffany Haddish

WOW! I have no words! I was so surprised to see how Tiffany interpreted the theme! I honestly did not recognise her, and I am just so in love with what she wore. I am a sucker for zebra, so this look immediately struck me. Her pantsuit had 57,000 sequins embellished, and she referred to herself as "Pimperella", which basically sums up how awesome she is. When asked if she was channelling any camp icons, Haddish stated that she was channelling “Tiffnicity, [her] inner camper". (W Magazine) She paired her pantsuit with a fedora and I wish I could pull one off as well as her. Hats off. I love her smokey cat eye that really pulls the entire look together. Tiffany just does Tiffany, and I totally respect her and what she stands for. Go Tiff! 

5. Violet Chachki

As one of the first drag queens to ever attend the Met Gala, Violent Chachki did not disappoint. She really brought it all! She won Season 7 of RuPaul's Drag Race (2017), and this year's Met theme is really a drag queen’s ultimate dream! Violet Chacki wore a Moschino dress from the Fall 2018 menswear and women's Pre-Fall show. The theme is dramatic and cunning, which is just how she depicted it. Her blue shadow is prominent which carries through to her blue diamond earrings. She poignantly said, "there are so many drag queens out there that would slay the Met Gala and deserve this exposure and visibility" (Garage), and she felt proud to represent her community in a "visible and loud way". Representation in the media is so important so it is refreshing to see this! I bloody loved this look, she really served it on the night.

6. Billy Porter

This... this is how I want to enter every party from here on out. After what Billy Porter wore to the Grammys this year, there was no surprise that he would have something this fabulous for the Met Gala. The wings, the headpiece, the eye makeup, everything! I am so in love with this look and he triumphed. In his words, he says Camp is often used as a pejorative. "What I love about having it at the Met Gala, and contextualizing camp, is it brings honour to a word and genre that can be discounted very often or thought of as cheesy. When it's done properly, it's one of the highest forms of fashion and art". (Vogue) He did THAT! Bravo Billy Porter, everything you did that night was inspirational and a show stopper.  

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So, that's it! My top six looks from the night. I didn’t find it too challenging to narrow down because as the night went on, these six struck me more than the others. Even though some looks from the night (to me) did not meet the criteria of ‘Camp: Notes on Fashion', the night was so beautiful, and I would love to go see the exhibition at the Met. But unfortunately, I have a marketing assignment to do, and makeup brushes to clean, so no NYC for me! 

Thank you to Maggie for using your platform The Misfitted to voice my thoughts and review on this incredible night! 

That's all from me,

Hattie xx

@hattienixon