While it’s never been unusual for political figures to walk the red carpet-just take Hillary Clinton’s appearance at the 2001 gala, tied to an exhibition on Jackie Kennedy’s White House wardrobe-it feels like there’s been a turning of the dial towards more explicit political messaging recently. Sure, the theme of each year’s exhibition provides a guide: from the renegade looks that marked 2013’s “ Punk: Chaos to Couture,” to the flounce and flamboyance of 2019’s “ Camp: Notes on Fashion,” to the “ gilded glamour” of this year’s gala, celebrating “ In America: An Anthology of Fashion.” But as the years have gone by, and the spotlight has grown ever more intense, stars with a forthright political outlook have recognized the night as a forum to share their principles and fundamental beliefs through clothing. When the Met Gala was first established in 1948, it was mainly as a means to raise money for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute-a mandate that remains to this day-although the fact that New York’s great and good also enjoy an opulent night out didn’t hurt its success either.Īs the Met Gala has evolved over the past few decades from a soirée enjoyed by a rarefied corner of Manhattan high society to one of the most hotly anticipated celebrity events of the year (now closely watched by onlookers all over the world), the style prerequisites for the red carpet have changed.
