The 2019 Met Gala had fans practically drooling over their phones waiting to see the best and the worst dressed celebrities of the night. The annual fundraising gala brings celebrities, athletes, and designers together at the Metropolitan Museum of Art while individuals strut their extravagant outfits down the runway. Whether its Katy Perry's elaborate chandelier gown to Kendall and Kylie's feather accessories, viewers were certainly not disappointed.
Although beautifully draped in breathtaking gowns, the women of the night were not the only ones that caught the viewer's attention. Individuals like Harry Styles, Jared Leto, Billy Porter and among countless other men made a statement not only by adding outrageous accessories to their outfits but by the way they dressed. With flowing pants, sequin, glitter, makeup and hanging earrings, the men in attendance practically defied any boundaries constructed by gender.
The theme of the gala was set off of Susan Sontag's essay Notes On "Camp" where she describes "camp" as the "love of the unnatural: of artifice and exaggeration." The men most definitely dressed for the theme.
Sontag expresses her progressive views on gender in her essay, "What is most beautiful in virile men is something feminine; what is most beautiful in feminine women is something masculine." Ezra Miller, an actor and singer, walked the pink carpet in a pin-striped suit, a full face of makeup full with bold red lips, multiple painted eyes and a long exaggerated cape.
Micheal Urie rocked both sides of Sontag's Idea of camp. With half a dress and half a tux, he undoubtedly made a statement as he marched down the carpet. Even with his left side, draped in an exorbitant pink dress, he wore black combat boots as he showcased his tattoos while he displays his scruffy facial hair. He wears a half a face of makeup, earrings, and heels to contrast the suit he wears on his right side.
Harry Styles displayed his own style of femininity in a more understated way with multicolored fingernails, rings, a single hanging earring, and a loose-fitting lace jumpsuit. This One Direction star posed in his flamboyant, sheer outfit challenging the 'suit and tie' look that men typically opt for.
Our society paints a picture of these rigid gender stereotypes that label those who even slightly stray from them. A box is checked off and we are put into a category that defines how we should act and how we should express ourselves. In reality, gender is fluid and crossing these boundaries only helps us move towards progress. The Met Gala is showing its viewers that these walls should be broken and these borders should be crossed. Gender is a social construct, if Harry Styles can wear a lace jumpsuit, so can you.
