“Police Abolition Now!” screamed a group of #FireThemAll activists as Gigi Hadid strutted through the crowd in a white Prada dress, saddled with a dozen security guards. After concluding that the peaceful protest was bothersome for the stream of bejeweled celebrities entering the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the New York City Police Department (NYPD) officers on site conducted a series of violent arrests. What seems like a scene straight out of the Hunger Games was in fact the 73rd annual Met Gala, fashion’s biggest night of the year.
The Met Gala is, for me, an occasion to lounge on my sofa in sweatpants and shout fashion advice at celebrities through my screen. As much fun as this is, every year I am more and more irked by the message the event sends off. This year, with its nationalistic theme, arrests, and air of moral superiority, I was finally able to put a finger on what outrages me most about the Met Gala.
The theme of the night was “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion.” Here was a golden opportunity to critique the failings of the United States or subvert the meaning of American-ness, but most took the theme to be a who-can-be-the-most-nationalistic competition (yes, Debbie Harry, a.k.a. Blondie, turned up wearing an American flag dress). Those who did attempt to pass a deeper message missed the mark, in most cases (need I remind you of Cara Delevingne’s “Peg the Patriarchy” jumpsuit?). In my mind, the only ones who truly nailed the theme were the #FireThemAll activists, because what is more American than rich people wining and dining while protestors get arrested outside?
But what was most jarring to watch was the celebration of performative activism. The Met Gala is a multi-million dollar charity event for the Museum. By no means should art or fashion be dismissed in activism; they have been crucial and creative tools for radical change-making (i.e. what drag culture has done for Queer rights). However, strutting down the red carpet in a ball gown—at an event that most paid $335,000 USD to attend—is not activism (even if you have “Tax the Rich” on the back of your dress). How can one claim to be “fighting the good fight” within an institution like the Met Gala, where one has to fraternize with figures like Bill de Blasio, the mayor of New York City who just made a multi-billion dollar investment in the NYPD?
The Met Gala should not be praised while it continues to celebrate blind nationalism; weaponize charity as a way to claim an elitist, moral high ground; support white supremacist figures like de Blasio; and turn a blind eye to police brutality (all during a global pandemic, lest we forget). As much as I love to gawk at the gorgeous outfits, fashion’s biggest night of the year is a conservative event entrenched in white supremacy and the heteropatriarchy—a glitzy opportunity for the ruling elite to be pseudo-philanthropic heroes in front of the press.
