The Met Gala is here for 2022 — the biggest night in fashion— was back again on Monday evening.
Just eight short months after we kinda sorta saw Kim Kardashian in her infamous all-black look at the Met Gala in 2021.
Vogue’s annual fashion extravaganza at the Metropolitan Museum of Art has traditionally taken place during the first Monday in May. But thanks to Covid, last year’s fashion fete got bumped from spring to September. So if you thought you were partaking in the great pandemic tradition of questioning your sense of time, don’t worry. You’re fine.
But if you’re wondering about the theme of Monday night’s event, be prepared to be perplexed once more.
The theme this year was In America: An Anthology of Fashion, which is a sequel to last year’s theme, In America: A Lexicon of Fashion. People described the dress code as white-tie with an emphasis on “Gilded Glamour.”
The Gilded Age was a tumultuous period between the Civil War and the turn of the 20th century that was known for robber barons, drama and grandeur. It was also a time of social inequality, in which a small population of elite folks enjoyed oodles of wealth. Think: John D. Rockefeller, Cornelius Vanderbilt and J.P. Morgan — and Bertha Russell (Carrie Coon) and her fabulous, over-the-top hats in HBO’s The Gilded Age.
There weren’t a ton of hats at the 2022 Met Gala, but there were plenty of capes, bodices and dramatic colours, plus a pirate of two (we’re looking at you, Shawn Mendes and Lenny Kravitz) and what appeared to be, uh, gilded pasties (see: Cara Delevingne).
Kim Kardashian’s nod to America of yore was sporting the iconic dress Marilyn Monroe wore to sing Happy Birthday to President John F. Kennedy. The reality star didn’t quite nail Monroe’s signature hairdo, opting instead for a slicked-back look.
But, hey, plenty of other celebrities made an appearance in great, not-so-great and completely whacky outfits, so scroll on down and enjoy!
Pete Davidson and Kim Kardashian
Blake Lively
Kylie Jenner
Khloé Kardashian
Fredrik Robertsson
Alessandro Michele and Jared Leto
Cara Delevingne
Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade
Glenn Close
Sarah Jessica Parker
Lizzo
Billie Eilish
Gigi Hadid
Janelle Monáe
Sebastian Stan
Tessa Thompson
Jessica Chastain
SZA
Megan Thee Stallion
Claire Danes
Teyana Taylor
Kid Cudi
David Harbour and Lily Allen
Ariana DeBose
Shawn Mendes
Camila Cabello
Emily Ratajkowski
Lena Waithe
Kodi Smit-McPhee
Alicia Keys
Nicola Coughlan
Chloe Bailey
Lenny Kravitz
Normani
Rachel Brosnahan
Hillary Clinton
Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner
Leslie Odom Jr.
Vanessa Hudgens
Dakota Johnson
Danai Gurira
Chloe Fineman
Amy Schumer
Mindy Kaling
Michelle Yeoh
Kacey Musgraves
Chloe Kim
Maude Apatow
Katy Perry
Anna Wintour
Tom Ford
Chloë Grace Moretz
Vanessa Nadal and Lin-Manuel Miranda
Venus Williams
Kaia Gerber and Austin Butler
La La Anthony