On September 13, 2021, for the first time in two years, one of this country’s biggest fashion affairs occurred at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC – the Met Gala. The Met Gala is a fundraiser for the Costume Institute which is where fashion exhibits are located at the Anna Wintour Costume Center. Anna Wintour, Vogue editor-in-chief, was the chairperson for the event and will chair the upcoming 2022 Met Gala as well which will be somewhat of a part two of this year’s event; it will share a similar theme and will also share space with the 2021 exhibit.

Depending on who is asked, this year’s theme was either “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion” or “American Independence.” Regardless, the outfits that resulted from the theme were very unique, each taking their own spin on celebrating all things “American.” Some attendees of the event had a political point to their outfit, such as Carolyn Maloney, who’s outfit called for “Equal Rights for Women.” Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez had the words “Tax the Rich” written across the back of her dress. As well as politics, lots of patriotism in the form of red, white, and blue was on display. Many people were wearing one of these colors- or even all of them! Lili Reinhart wore a dress that had the state flowers from all fifty US states on it, while Amanda Gorman showed patriotism by wearing a Lady Liberty inspired dress.

Pop culture and other classic American stereotypes also influenced outfits this year, including a heavy emphasis on old Hollywood. For instance, Billie Eilish dressed like Marilyn Monroe, Kendall Jenner wore an Audrey Hepburn look, and Yara Shahidi resembled Josephine Baker. Old Hollywood fashion continuously proves to be a staple for styles today, a point clearly proven by the outfits at the gala. Other American outfit themes included football, the wild west, denim, and simple styles such as converse. Then, of course, there were fun outfits such as Kim Kardashian’s which people on social media said made her look like a dementor from Harry Potter. Pete Davdison, Rhianna, A$AP, Iman, and of course Lil Nas X all wore outfits that were really different, entertaining, and impressive, and worth checking out.

While every year there are disagreements over which outfit was the favorite, there usually aren’t any other major conflicts regarding the event, but this year there were contrasting feelings about social influencers being invited, especially since it was already a smaller affair than usual. Addison Rae, Dixie D’Amelio, Emma Chamberlain, Jackie Aina, and a few other social influencers made their appearance at the occasion, resulting in many people across social media saying that their presence was out of place.The fact that some influencers had been invited instead of A-list celebrities fired people up even more.

Overall, the Met Gala is always a big event for fashion lovers and anyone who keeps up with the entertaining lives of celebrities. This year’s event was highly anticipated, and did not disappoint. Hopefully next year’s affair will set even higher expectations and be equally intriguing.