Is the Met Gala an advertisement for the rich?

E. O. Milne

In 1946 a woman by the name of Eleanor Lambert founded a night once a year called the Met Gala. It was to be held annually at the Metropolitan Museum in New York. And over time the Museum began to be heard about all around the world.

So over time people of interest began to buy tickets to the events, putting on a somewhat nice piece of clothing and going to see what it was all about, but now the present day, the Met Gala is something that is gossiped about across the globe.

Now all your idols come to the night and wear brands such as Tommy Hilfiger, Chanel, Prada and more. And the effort that goes into making some of these dresses and suits can take months.

But even though this show is raved about continuously by millions, I still question two things. Why do people care so much about this event? And is it still about fashion?

How can it be considered an honour to get an invitation to the night when guests are paying nearly a million dollars just to get in? It is not like it is the only fashion event in the world. 

Many would even argue that the night is only about a single thing, to continue to make the rich look good. And you may say that the night is about celebrating fashion and all the unique designs of the times, but if it were not for the labels behind them and the bodies that are wearing them, I do not think you would seem to care.

So is the Met Gala overrated or is it just another commercialised event? Much like the Superbowl. Because if so, there is nothing wrong with that, but then the journalists of the world need to stop making out as if it is about celebrating the art of clothing.

Another example of this is when it comes to the topic for the year, for the 2023 Met Gala the topic was Karl Lagerfeld. The genius who got Chanel back to being one of the greatest brands of the times.

So, you would think people would honour the topic, and they would build their design around it. But instead, many try to put the idea of the year into the fashion piece they already have planned. An example this year was with Jared Letto’s full cat costume, the man is known for always going a bit out there with his looks. Because the fact that people like Jared Leto are there for a bunch of laughs from the crowd makes people like me think that the Met Gala is becoming less about fashion and more about the celebrities getting recognition.

Anna Wintour controls the night, she is the Chief of Vogue magazine, so you would think that she would stop people like Jared Letto and even Doja Cat (wearing prosthetics and vaping while she was on the red carpet) from being invited and yet she does not.

So, I think that if you are going to have a world-renowned event such as the Met Gala, you need to think about the purpose of your event and make that clear to the audience. 

In my opinion, the Met Gala is becoming commercialised, and as a result, we are forgetting the reason the gala began in the first place.