The Met Gala returned this year on Monday, Sept. 13, to celebrate its new exhibit “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion,” and many attendees took this as an opportunity to make a statement about America’s current socio-political climate.
Many famous figures turned out for fashion’s biggest night this week with big names such as Lil Nas X, Jenifer Lopez, Megan Thee Stallion, Olivia Rodrigo and many more.
However, the celebrities that made the biggest statement dressed for the future of America, not the future of fashion.
One of the biggest statements of the night was representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s “Tax the Rich” dress borrowed from designer Aurora James.
Many Republican lawmakers such as senator Rick Scott accused Ocasio-Cortez of hypocrisy, saying that her “tax the rich” stance was negated by the fact that she wore such an expensive dress to such an expensive event.
“The medium is the message, and before haters get wild flying off the handle, New York elected officials are routinely invited to and attend the Met due to our responsibilities in overseeing and supporting the city’s cultural institutions for the public. I was one of several in attendance this evening,” she tweeted in response to the backlash.
This wasn’t the first time she has used fashion as a medium for a political statement.
During the 2018 swearing in of new congressional member, she and many other women wore all white attire and red lipstick, paying homage to the suffragettes of the twenties.
Many more celebrities made waves with Dan Levy’s LGBTQIA+ themed world map ensemble, Niki De Jager’s tribute to trans activist Marsha P. Johnson and Cara Delevingne’s blunt statement on patriarchy.
In the past year, we have seen many public figures boldly using social media platforms to campaign for change, and it looks like they are now boldly embracing fashion as one of their mediums for change.
