Campus Runway: The Met Gala 2021
Serving as one of the most pinnacle nights of fashion, this year’s Met Gala paid tribute to the creativity and innovativeness that fuels the wonderful world of fashion with the theme “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion.”
Every Met has its own theme, and this year’s take on American independence opened the red carpet to a range of gusty and unpredictable looks. Some looks, however, fell more in theme than others. Here is the list of those who understood the assignment, hitting both the theme and their looks out of the park.
1. Yara Shahidi in Dior
Working alongside longtime stylist Jason Bolden and the team at Dior, Shahidi set out to honor American trailblazer Josephine Baker, an American-born French entertainer and civil rights activist, with her bedazzled beige gown and veil. To accessorize her classic Hollywood look, Shahidi paired a tiny nude belt and jeweled gloves.
According to Vogue, Shahidi said her goal was to “pay homage to [a] powerhouse renegade black American artist. I just hope I was able to do that.”
2. Billie Eilish in Oscar De La Renta
Billie Eilish channeled Marilyn Monroe with her old Hollywood-inspired gown that draped over almost the entirety of the Met steps with its 15-foot train. She gave us all the Cinderella energy in her tulle-layered, soft pink gown.
In addition to its beauty, her look was propelled with purpose. Eilish agreed to sport the Oscar de la Renta on one condition: if the company agreed to stop using fur.
Eilish took a daring stand for sustainability and has become, according to The New York Times, “perhaps the only Met Gala guest in history to elicit an ethical policy change from a company as a condition of wearing its gown to fashion’s version of the Super Bowl.”
3. Rihanna & ASAP Rocky
These two continually raise the bar on how we define a dynamic duo, especially when it comes to fashion.
Rihanna’s look this year was built around a dramatic, black, ruffle dress from Balenciaga with a beanie and a 267 karat Bulgari diamond headpiece. Alongside her was ASAP Rocky, who was draped in an oversized, puffy wrap cloak that resembled a knitted quilt— a historical nod to the night’s theme.
4. Ella Emhoff in Adidas by Stella McCartney
Unlike many of the stars, Ella Emhoff’s number one priority when assembling her look was comfort. In the head-to-toe, traffic red jumpsuit with sheer detailing, Emhoff relayed the shift in fashion to comfort after a long-endured pandemic.
“Even though this is the Met, everyone is allowed to still feel comfortable in their own skin… There’s no playbook on how you dress to this,” Emhoff said to The New York Times.
5. Kendall Jenner in Givenchy
Kendall Jenner’s custom Givenchy dress paid homage to both the 1964 big screen musical “My Fair Lady” and iconic actress Audrey Hepburn. Styled with a staked, diamond choker and sleek updo, Jenner did a modern twist on the Cecil Beaton creation from the film.
“I love Audrey, so we really wanted to take a special moment of hers and make it our own,” Jenner told Vogue at the event. “And I feel like he did an amazing job. She [Hepburn] wore Givenchy all the time.”
Green is the feature editor. Follow her on Twitter at @jessigreen0.