The 71 st Met Gala 2019, was chaired by Anna Wintour, Lady Gaga, Alessandro Michael, Harry Styles, and Serena Williams. This year’s extravagant met gala took place in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York as always. About 200 artworks and fashion objects dated back from the 17th century was exhibited at the gala.
Followed by last year’s theme Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination, this year the established theme was Camp: Notes on Fashion. This idea was inspired by Susan Sontag’s essay Notes on Camp, which created a literary sensation back in the ’60s. For those who are wondering what camp is, here’s our break down of this year's theme.
The core idea of Camp is to make something look appealing which is of a bad taste and the celebrities have really stepped up to make it look so. The concept invites a whole different kind of perception about art, fashion, styles and how to regard them.
The word “camp” traces back its origin to 1870 at London, where it was first used in the case of a crossdresser Frederick Park, who was suspected of then-illegal homosexual activity. Then the Oxford dictionary included it later in their print with a meaning of exaggeration, theatrical and ostentatious.
The Costume Institute's head curator Andrew Bolton of the Metropolitan Museum of Art said, "Camp by nature is subversive, confronting and challenging. In the end, the purpose of the camp is to put a smile on our faces and a warm glow in our hearts."
Weighing in her thoughts on the theme, the elegant Padmavat actress, Deepika Padukone with her exquisite underworld Barbie outfit defined camp as something very personal and how everyone has their own interpretation of the camp. The actress said,” It’s theatrical... sort of over the top and you want do it in an elegant and respectable way.”
Nick Jonas and his wife, actress Priyanka Chopra wearing Dior stated, "Camp is an idea which lets you do whatever you want. It's about playing with the idea of not taking yourself too seriously and having some fun with it.”
Harry Styles who made his debut in the Met Gala is also one of the co-chairs of the event. To him, camp meant enjoyment, fun and no judgment as people are free to be who they are.
Kim Kardashian who attended the met with her partner Kanye West said that the only word to define camp is “Manfred Thierry Mugler” who is a known for his fetishistic fashion and spectacular Broadway shows.