Is the Met Gala out of fashion?

Fashion's largest celebrity red carpet event is celebrated annually at the Metropolitan Museum of Art to raise money for the Museum's Costume Institute - the only institute that does not receive funding. Organized by Vogue's Editor-in-Chief, Anna Wintour, this year's theme was: In American: A Lexicon of Fashion. Typically, fashion brands and designers sponsor guests to model their designs for a $35,000 ticket or even a whole table (and this is assuming Anna Wintour approves of you attending).

Fashion is all about politics, and many political statements were made on this year's red carpet. In exchange for Billie Eilish to wear an Oscar De La Renta dress, the brand agreed to stop selling fur. American politician Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wore a dress that read 'tax the rich'. 

Despite the Americana theme, most celebrities wore outfits from European luxury design houses such as Balenciaga and Louis Vuitton. The eye watering ticket price immediately excludes small and underfunded designers. This problem perpetuates the industry's problem of exclusion. In fashion, there are never enough seats at the table. It’s impossible to forget to mention Kim Kardashian’s controversial head-to-toe black Balenciaga outfit, problematic for two evident reasons: women in Afghanistan are fighting to defend their right not to wear the Burqa imposed by the Taliban and Muslim women in general battling with a Burqa ban; a white and western woman is celebrated for wearing something that Muslim women are demonized for

A couple of days after the gala, Indya Moore summarised the problem with the Met Gala via an Instagram post, where she explained why she would probably never attend the event again. "We organize millions for a museum, on stolen land that black and brown people suffer on unless white supremacy thinks they are exceptional". The Met Gala operates in the name of the charity whilst being simultaneously one of the most exclusive events in the world where attendees come to flex their status and a dress. Outside the event, Black Lives Matter protesters were campaigning against the sickening ticket costs that could be used to alleviate poverty and the ongoing battle with Covid-19.

There might not be enough seats at the table, but what happens when no one no longer wants to be?