The 2021 Met Gala: Bringing America Together
Everyone knows about the Met Gala, and most everyone loves the hype surrounding it. The annual event, recognized as “fashion's biggest night of the year,” showcases fashion from many cultures with different themes each year for designers to match. Though the crowd of celebrities was smaller than usual, the outfits this year were still wildly influential. Everyone has different opinions on the best and worst outfits each year, which is a debate that, admittedly, a lot of us look forward to (go look at Ruby’s opinion!) The 2020 Met was cancelled due to Covid-19, which was a disappointment to us all, but this year undoubtedly made up for it. Covid has hit us all fairly hard, and we each cope in our own ways. The creative community has turned it into an opportunity for the country to grow together- and this year’s theme has done just that.
This year’s Met Gala theme was based on the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s exhibition “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion.” This exhibit is the first of a two-part series created to establish fashion’s link to emotion. Andrew Bolton has been the head curator of the Metropolitan Museum’s costume institute in New York City since 2006, and the brains behind the exhibition which inspired the Met Gala. He has also headed many other innovative and very successful exhibitions such as “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination” in 2018, as well as “Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty” in 2011. The Metropolitan Museum is known for its influential fashion exhibits, which draw the attention of nearly everyone in America due to their inclusive as well as culturally and racially diverse themes. The current exhibit is based on the notion that a patchwork quilt represents the multifaceted ‘melting pot’ that America is. This particular part of the theme was represented at the Gala by none other than A$AP Rocky, who was wrapped in a quilt designed by Eli Russel Linnetz. This nostalgic and wistful work earned him a showcase in the Metropolitan exhibition. Each patch of the hypothetical quilt represented 12 different emotions: nostalgia, belonging, delight, joy, wonder, affinity, confidence, strength, desire, assurance, comfort, and consciousness. These are thought to be the main emotions which define the vast majority of American fashion, and I would have to agree. Fashion is very subjective- each viewer and creator interprets pieces differently- which is what makes it so influential and such a vital part of culture around the world.
The notion that America is best defined as a patchwork quilt is spot-on because it represents that America is home to people of every race, ethnicity, culture, and religion, yet we are all connected. Political activist and politician Jesse Jackson said “America is more like a quilt- many patches, many pieces, many colors, many sizes, all woven and held together by a common thread.” I certainly could not have said it better. And what better way to represent it than through a common interest: fashion. Politics play a role in everything- especially fashion. Bolton remarks that “it was almost impossible to do this show without looking at it through the lens of politics. There’s no art form that addresses the politics of identity more than fashion.” Visual expression says more than words ever can, and because of the separation of America through Covid-19 and recent social issues, this exhibition was vital for taking steps toward re-discovering the common thread that holds us together.
By Sydney Feld