The Met Gala, also known as the Oscar’s of the fashion world is one of the most talked about events in popular culture. The first Monday of May, the Met Gala “showcases amazing fashion worn by global superstars across so many fields". It’s main goal is to raise money for the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Even though the Met Gala is advertised as displaying some of the best clothes in the world, is the Met Gala’s fashion getting more disappointing?  

            To better understand the Met Gala we need to dive into it’s roots and explore it’s history. It all started with Irene Lewisohn and Aline Bernstein. These two women created a collection of costumes that theater designers could look at and get inspiration from. By 1946, the collection grew by a great amount. It became a part of the Metropolitan Museum and was known as the Costume Institute. In 1948, Eleanor Lambert, a publicist, created the annual fundraising Met Gala. It was known as “The Party of the Year." But it wasn’t until Diana Vreeland that the Met Gala became what we know it as today. Following her death we see Anna Wintour take the stage and change the date of the Met Gala to every first Monday of May following the death of the museum curator in December, which was when the Met Gala was usually held. It was always meant to display glamorous garments worn by societies' most elite superstars. 

              We see this happen with the dress Cher wore in 1974 designed by Bob Mackie. It shocked the fashion world. The theme of that years Met Ball was “Romantic and Glamorous Hollywood Design.” To say Cher’s dress was glamorous is an understatement. It was elegant and it brought something different to the fashion world. The garment fit her like a glove and it almost looked as if it was a part of her. No one had done anything like it before. Not to mention that the superstar’s dress was made out of souffle, a material that was outlawed in the U.S.A at the time, and you could only get in France. Rihanna did the same thing for the Met Ball in 2015. The theme was China through the looking glass. Rihanna showed up in a long yellow robe that was designed by Chinese designer Guo Pei. The garment was handmade by a single Chinese woman.  It took her two years to create and perfect. You could see the detail, time and effort that went into making the dress. 

            Fast forward to 2021, the Met Ball announced that the theme was, “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion.” Audiences expected celebrities to wear American Designer’s and display something different. The result however was not what we had expected.  Even though Rihanna never disappointed fans with her looks that year was a bit different. She showed up to the event wearing a black coat and black beanie, courtesy of Balenciaga. The look was underwhelming compared to her other looks. Addison Rae, a Tik-Tok influencer showed up wearing a simple red Gucci dress. It made her look as if she was going to a simple dinner, rather than a prestigious event. We see the same thing happen in 2022 in which multiple guests including Addison Rae, Kourtney Kardashian, Khloe Kardashian, and Sebastian Stan. Addison Rae showed up in a simple sequin dress. Kourtney Kardashian wore bandages; Khloe wore a gold dress with black accents and Sebastian Stan showed up only wearing pink. These looks were all very disappointing as they weren’t anything new or exciting nor did they match the theme of gilded glamor, and they seemed to overshadow the looks that were decent.  

              There are people who could argue that the fashion in the Met Gala isn’t getting disappointing at all. Blake Lively showed up to the Met in 2022 paying tribute to the Statue of Liberty, which was in fact made during the Gilded age. Not only did her dress match the theme but it was also very flattering on her. In 2021 Iman, the wife of the late David Bowie, showed up wearing Harris Reed and it was beautiful. Her headpiece was something different and we hadn’t really seen it before. 

               In conclusion, it is difficult to say whether or not the Met Gala’s fashion is getting disappointing as the years go by. Even though there are many looks that are questionable there are also ones that outshine the bad ones and really make you think about fashion in a different way. What do you think?