Campus Runway: Perry Playland, A Vibrant Approach To Camp Fashion

Camp fashion is an idea that has been lost in the bustling traffic of the fashion industry. Attempts have been made in prior years to encapsulate this fashion trend. The 2019 Met Gala aimed to embody the idea of “camp fashion.” According to Vox, “camp used to be a curiosity, but in 2019, it became one of the dominant sensibilities of the era. It’s everywhere, and its ubiquity seems to render it curiously invisible.”

What is camp fashion, and how has it been “lost in translation” recently? According to an article in The New York Times, in 1964,  writer Susan Sontag  defined camp as an “aesthetic ‘sensibility,’ plain to see but hard to explain: an intentional over-the-top-ness, a slightly (or extremely) ‘off’ quality, bad taste as a vehicle for good art.” “Camp” is intended to be an art form displayed through fashion pieces that are, to the passive eye, unconventional.

Katy Perry, known for being a “camp” celebrity, continued the trend during her Las Vegas residency . When Perry announced her residency in May 2021, fans were excited to see what she had to bring to the table. Perry’s past tours were known for being immersive experiences with eye-catching spectacles. 

However, her last tour “Witness” had low sales. Audiences wanted to see how she bounced back.

On the opening night of the residency, critics called her show the “perfect encapsulation of camp.” I watched Perry’s fascinating show on YouTube, TikTok and through videos posted by a friend who attended the show. Split up into five acts and a finale, Perry displayed outfits by various designers and props that were quite literally “larger than life.”

Act I:

In Act I, Perry appeared in a stunning white and pink dress, paired with white knee-high boots. Zaldy, a Filipino-American fashion designer known for camp design, created the look. Perry’s “doll dress” was paired with a massive toy rocking horse, dancers dressed as toy soldiers, walkie talkies, giant crayons and more to complete the scene.

ACT II:

In Act II, the stage displayed a 16-foot-tall toilet paired with huge rolls of toilet paper. Perry appeared in a white dress with a tassel-style fringe lining the bottom with gloves that had the same detail. She also sported a white headdress, a radiant diamond choker and white and  black knee-high boots. The dress, created by designer Heather Picchiottino, resembled toilet paper while still looking beautiful.

ACT III: 

In Act III, Perry set the stage in a style inspired by “Alice in Wonderland” and its aesthetic. She rode in on a large snail, wearing an eye-catching red top paired with fringed latex chaps and a mushroom hat to top it off. Perry brought out a dancing frog and sung one of her hit songs “Daisies” while hovering above the stage on a beautiful daisy. Zaldy also designed this outfit.

ACT IV: 

Act IV featured the outfit that received the most media coverage: Perry wore an aluminum dress made of soda can tabs with soda can tops placed sporadically on it. Based around trash, this act displayed dancing garbage and giant-sized surgical masks. Again, designer Zaldy created this piece, titling it the “Soda Can Dress.” 

ACT V & Finale:

Perry took the time to show gratitude for the opportunity to create this residency for her fans. For Act V, she emerged in a stunning cutout dress with yellow and orange rhinestones and an extravagant feather boa. She ended the finale in a pink velvet gown. Designer Johnny Wujek designed both dresses, but artist Vincent Michael hand painted and crystalized the first gown.

To get student perspectives on Perry’s “camp” residency, I created a poll on my Instagram story to see exactly what they thought. Out of the 83 responses I received, 68 students saw the show as “camp,” and 15 students said the show was “not camp.” What do you think? Let me know at @austinfarmerie on Instagram.

Farmerie is a Champion contributor.