Macmillan
According to Bevy Smith, the fashion at this year’s Met Gala missed the mark.
While she wasn’t in attendance for the annual fashion extravaganza this go around, Smith was unimpressed with the lack of creativity and representation of Black designers that attendees brought to this year’s theme, “American independence.”
“I’m seeing a lot of folks wearing looks far more appropriate for #Camp or #HeavenlyBodies not a lot of #AmericanFashion either which is disappointing,” Smith tweeted on Monday night as attendees strutted their stuff on the Met’s white carpet. “A lot of boring looks, it’s the #MetGala go big, extravagant or stunningly on theme, American Fashion didn’t begin with #OldHollywoodGlamour ugh.”
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Smith last attended the Met Gala in 2019 as a plus one of Dapper Dan, an iconic fashion designer and Harlem native. As a well-respected fashion critic and author, Smith further explained her disappointment in the event’s fashions this year was partly because she thought its Black attendees chose to play it safe when it came to their looks.
As she pointed out, however, the industry has deemed Black fashions as “ghetto” countless times before later capitalizing on Black culture’s most authentic styles.
“Black people with access have become far too staid & safe we know how to do too much, be extravagant, but then it’s deemed ghetto until fashion ‘finds’ it,” Smith stated in reply to a fan who shared her “underwhelmed” feelings towards this year’s gala.
“And why no American Black designers?” she asked. “This is how you can tell that all that #BLM support was performative, if this was 2020 Black designers would have flooded the #MetGala carpet.”
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As you can imagine, Smith’s critiques started an even larger conversation about who wore what and why in her replies. Some pointed out the celebrities who chose to wear Black designers, while others discussed how British racecar driver Lewis Hamilton bought a table and invited several Black designers to join him at the event. They said things like:
“From my count: Keke Palmer & Megan Rapinoe in Sergio Hudson, Ilana Glazer & Kehlani in Aliette, Eva Chen & Jordan Alexander in @cjrtheperson, Sha’Carri in Theophilio & Brandon Blackwood, AOC in Brother Vellies, & Kid Cudi in Virgil Abloh (who looked a MESS). Also Alton Mason in Theophilio,”
“lewis hamilton lobbied anna to let him buy a table – unusual because he’s not a designer – and he invited emerging Black designers and Black talent to come with,”
and “Not one homage to Stephen Burrows. Patrick Kelly, Willi Smith Not even a LaQuan Smith original moment ??? Not even a Tracy Reece Donna Karen, Halston Haute Couture moment.”
See more of Bevy’s commentary and retweets about this year’s Met Gala down below.
