Eoin Gavin

Andrew Bolton, the head curator of the Costume Institute, along with Anna Wintour, decided this year's theme is “Camp: Notes on Fashion” coming from Susan Sontag’s essay “Notes on ‘Camp’” in which Sontag wrote about the different ways a concept can be constructed. Big bold colours and big silhouettes are expected ala Galliano for Dior, Viktor&Rolf, Valentino, Gucci (who is sponsoring the event), Moschino, Schiaparelli and Thom Browne. ​​

It will be interesting to see who follows the theme this year as more and more often if a theme is specific ala Rei Kawakuba/Comme Des Garcons (2017) the more people that don't follow the theme, however those that do follow it usually STUN, and the more broad a theme like Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination (2018) the more people that follow the theme however it is usually very boring as people throw a cross on a dress and call it quits. I expect people like Rihanna, Katy Perry, Solange Knowles and Zendaya will definitely follow the theme and honestly, I wouldn't be mad if they were the only ones that show up because they usually turn out the best looks.

Every year the Met Gala has co-chairs and for this year they are Harry Styles, Serena Williams, Lady Gaga and Gucci’s creative director, Alessandro Michele and so everyone is expecting biggest and best looks to come from them. Designers usually choose one person to essentially be the model of their brand and a custom look will be made for that person, however, the look will need to A. represent the brand and theme and B. be approved by Anna Wintour. ​

I think it will also be interesting to see how people interpret the theme as when people hear camp they usually think queer (drag, pantomimes, high voice, limp wrist) however in a press summit that took place early in February Anna explained that they want to explore all areas of camp including high camp (like artist Caravaggio), low camp like superheroes (he-man), good camp (drag) and bad camp (Trump). This theme will either serve us some of the best looks ever seen on the Met Gala red carpet or it will serve us A LOT of controversies and I'm excited for either one.

The Met Gala began in 1948 and is chaired by Anna Wintour, the editor of Vogue. The event is put on to help fund the Costume Institute of the Met. Anna decides who gets invited and with the help of the Vogue team approximately 500 invites are sent out. This year’s event will take place on May 6th. Guests tour the exhibition of items which fit in with the theme (which will be available for public viewing from May 9th-September 8th 2019) before sitting down for dinner and enjoying performances by the co-chairs. ​