Jamey Heron-Waterhouse
The Met Gala theme this year was ‘Gilded Glamor and White Tie’. This could be interpreted in many ways, but the two most prominent ones would be the Gilded Age of America, from 1870 to 1890, when America was going through a period of economic growth, or the term gilded, meaning covered with a thin layer of gold or a substance that looks gold. With this in mind, Jamey Heron-Waterhouse gives us a rundown of the 2022 Met Gala.
Some celebrities hit the nail on the head, whilst others missed the mark completely (if I see one more man wear a plain black suit to THE Met Gala I’m going to scream), and I, someone with no right to criticise fashion, will give my thoughts and judgements on some of the best and worst looks from the evening.
Starting with one of the co-chairs of the event and my personal favourite look, Blake Lively resembled the statue of liberty in an Atelier Versace New York inspired gown, taking inspiration from grand central station, the empire state building and, of course, the statue of liberty. The look fit the theme and looked great, so it was a winner in my eyes. She was also accompanied by Ryan Reynolds, her husband, who wore a black suit, but can we blame him when he’s standing next to Lively’s spectacle?
Another one of my personal favourites was Emma Corrin, styled with Harry Lambert in a suit inspired by Socialite Evander Berry Wall. Though I wasn’t a huge fan of the jacket that accompanied their look, Corrin managed to pull it off with confidence and elegance, fitting the theme and doing it well.
Moving on to another favourite of mine, Kid Cudi donned an electric blue suit with a matching cape, similar to the cloaks women wore during the gilded age. I liked the exploration of both modern and older fashion in this piece, and I was frankly just excited to not see another black suit.
How can I not include Lizzo in this when her look included a gold-embroidered coat and a gold flute! Both the coat and the flute followed the gilded definition in a classy and on theme way, but also followed Lizzo’s own style with the black dress underneath and her long acrylic nails. The coat was also hand embroidered by Thom Browne!
I feel Lizzo’s look could also be linked to Gunna’s look who also donned a bag made by Thom Browne, which was shaped like a dog and even had its own Instagram account! Gunna’s outfit, like Lizzo’s, was black with golden embroidery, taking the gilded theme to an understated but classy level. This is the ONLY black suit that I will let slide!
The last look that I’d like to discuss is Evan Mock’s pale-yellow suit. I feel that he worked well with the ‘white tie’ and gilded age theme but also made it his own with an interesting design on the trousers and his pink hair. A message to all the men who wore a black suit: This is what you’re aiming for!!
There were many other looks that I thought were stunning, but these are the four that stood out to me. Moving on to the ones I favour less, and I’m assuming the more entertaining portion of this article, the looks that I feel dropped the ball.
Sebastian Stan needs to answer for his crimes! The theme was gilded glamour… what could possibly be gilded or glamourous about a hot pink ensemble and trainers? Did he even get emailed the theme?
Another one I disliked was Kylie Jenner. This was apparently the first MET gala that all five Kardashian sisters had attended at the same time, so I had expected more from them. I, however, did not feel fulfilled when I saw Kylie wearing a snapback and a veil. The piece honours the late Virgil Abloh and it does seem that Kylie aimed to follow the Met theme of American fashion, rather than the fashion theme of gilded glamour, but I felt that Kylie could’ve done so much with the theme!
Moving onto another Kardashian, the one that started it all, Kim. Also ignoring the gilded glamour theme, Kim focused on American fashion, donning Marilyn Monroe’s dress she wore when she sang Happy Birthday to the president. I can’t deny that she looked amazing, I did however wish that she had followed the gilded glamour theme as I feel she could’ve done so much with it, but I definitely don’t hate this homage to the late actress we all know and love. She was also accompanied by Pete Davidson… who wore a black suit. Moving on!
Many people had issues with Emma Stone’s white dress at the MET gala. Whilst I think she looks beautiful, I struggle to see how it fits the theme. The dress was her after-party wedding dress, so was given a “second life” for the MET, a nice sentiment but when compared to the Blake Lively’s spectacle transformation from copper to aqua on the carpet, it can’t compete!
The last look that I wanted to discuss was Gigi Hadid’s all red Versace look. Whilst I think the look is interesting to look at and isn’t necessarily a bad look, I feel it completely evades the theme! Where is the gold? I feel that the link to the gilded age or to America is nowhere to be seen, perhaps it’s under that giant coat?…
I would like to reiterate that I have absolutely no qualifications that give me the right to decide which looks were good or bad on the carpet, but these were my thoughts anyway! Here’s to another year of missing the theme and plain black suits, bring on the MET gala 2023!
Jamey Heron-Waterhouse
Featured image by anielbaez0 via Pixabay. Image license found here. No changes were made to this image.
In-article images courtesy of @themetgalaofficial, @emmalouisecorrin and @gunna via @instagram.com No changes made to these images.
For more content including uni news, reviews, entertainment, lifestyle, features and so much more, follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and like our Facebook page for more articles and information on how to get involved.
If you just can’t get enough of Lifestyle, like our Facebook as a reader or contributor.
