Style, but no substance? Dismay as Met Gala loses political edge

As pro-Palestinian protests unfolded blocks away, the Met Gala, which took place in New York on Monday evening, unfolded devoid of political statement.

- Ellie Violet Bramley

Attendees wore dramatic dresses made of sand or tens of thousands of crystals; with teams of helpers lugging heavy trains and suits akin to three-seater sofas. Yet any sartorial statement about what was happening beyond the red carpet was unexpectedly absent. The nearby chants of protesters did nothing to pierce the vacuum.

It "felt really dystopian", said Venetia La Manna, a fair fashion campaigner who posted a video on Instagram this week in which she pointed out the absurdity. "As our favourite celebrities took to the red carpet and voluntarily lost the ability to breath and move, Israel seized control of Gaza's Rafah border crossing halting the flow of aid, leaving Palestinians nowhere safe," she wrote.

Previous Met Galas have not been so devoid of politics. In 2021, the congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez caused controversy by wearing a dress emblazoned with "Tax the Rich". In 2018, to coincide with the "Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination" theme, the actor Lena Waithe wore a rainbow-flag cape. In 2022 Riz Ahmed used his outfit to highlight the role of immigrant workers, "who kept the Gilded Age going", in reference to that year's Gilded Glamour theme.