After one cancellation in 2020 and a four-month postponement in 2021, one would think the Met Gala would have something special in store for its audience.

It was simply like every other red carpet event—The Skidmore News even called it “boring.”

People on the red carpet entering and being interview for the annual Met Gala.

NoondayNews via Creative Commons.

The Met Gala is an annual fundraiser for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. It is an event for stars and celebrities from all over the world to come together and show off fashion works by influential or upcoming designers.

The ball was hosted by Billie Eilish, Naomi Osaka, Timothée Chalamet and Amanda Gorman.

Billie Eilish wore an Oscar de la Renta gown in which she “channeled Marilyn Monroe and Grace Kelly,” according to CNN Style. Her peach gown was elegant and monumental, since Oscar de la Renta is agreeing to go forward with a future of fur-free clothing per the vegan star’s requests.

The popular young actor Timothée Chalamet wore an all-white ensemble by Haider Ackermann for the event.

Famous tennis player Naomi Osaka wore a custom Louis Vuitton gown with purple and blue swirls that was “a powerful celebration of her heritage,” according to Vogue.

Amanda Gorman is the young poet who generated buzz after reading her work at President Biden’s inauguration. She wore a strapless royal blue Vera Wang dress with a crystal headpiece, an outfit she chose to “to reimagine the Statue of Liberty” she explained to Vogue.

The Met Gala has a theme for attendees to follow every year. This year’s theme is “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion”, and most of the guests were off-theme with their outfits.

Addison Rae, for example, the popular TikTok star who just released her debut movie “He’s All That”, wore a Tom Ford gown from 2003 that was borrowed from Kourtney Kardashian’s closet. Not only did the dress have no relation to the theme, but it was re-used.

Even popular musician Shawn Mendes wore an all-black outfit by Michael Kors which  had no resemblance to the theme. According to The Skidmore News, it made him look like a “slightly dressier version of Magic Mike.”

There were outfits that obviously were not as good as expected, but there were some highlights across the red carpet.

One important outfit to note was brought about by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, U.S. representative of New York. She wore a white gown by Brother Vellies, with the political slogan “Tax the rich” across the back. Vogue stated, “Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez had to make a political statement. It was only right.” There is a lot of controversy over her dress, but it was a message that did represent the American theme.

Another controversial but monumentally outfit was Kim Kardashian’s gown which “rewrote the red carpet’s rules” according to Vogue. The  black Balenciaga haute couture gown included a matching mask to conceal her facial features and an extravagant train.

“Even with her entire face and body covered, everyone was able to immediately identify Kim Kardashian. Her body is so ingrained in American society that you can tell it’s her by looking at her silhouette. Kim Kardashian’s body is American pop culture,” reported The Skidmore News.

Once you consider the background on the decision of the outfit, it can be classified as one of the most talked about and on-theme outfits of all the stars.

The Met Gala was pretty lukewarm compared to the previous ones, however there is exciting news for Met Gala fans.

The ball usually takes place during the first week of May, but due to COVID-19, the date was pushed to Sept. 13. 

One would think the Sept. 13 date would postpone the next gala, but the 2022 Met Gala will still happen only eight months after the 2021 event on May 2, 2022. And it will be a continuation of the 2021 Met Gala.

Both exhibits are themed around America. The second part’s theme is “In America: An Anthology of Fashion.”

To top it off, both corresponding exhibits will be available until Sept. 5, 2022.

A two-in-one Met Gala experience does slightly make up for the ordinary comeback of the 2021 ball.

Jaedyn Young can be reached at jaedynyoung@sagebrush.unr.edu or on Twitter @jaedyn_young3.