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In this satire article, Tessa makes jabs at celebrities who never follow the Met Gala themes.
Celebrities never fit the theme
Celebrities never fit the theme
By Tessa Hager
By Tessa Hager
On May 1, 2023, the Met Gala will be hosted at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Just like clockwork, celebrities will be lining up to compete for the prize of Most Ridiculous Costume. The prize is being trolled on social media. Not only are celebrities terrible at choosing their Met Gala outfits, but they are also notorious for avoiding the theme at all costs. While every year seems to get a little bit worse, I have compiled a list of some of the worst and off-theme costumes celebrities have worn.
Kim Kardashian
Kim Kardashian
Ah, yes. Probably one of the most famous on this list, Kim Kardashian is also the best at staying as far away from the theme as possible. In 2019, the theme was “Camp: Notes on Fashion,” which essentially means over the top and exaggerated. That seems like something Kim K could pull off, right? After all, she is known for being dramatic. No. She showed up looking like she just got out of the shower. If the requirement for attending the Met Gala is to take a shower, then most Americans should be able to go. In 2020, the Met Gala was canceled due to COVID-19, but Kim K came back strong in 2021 with an all-black outfit. No, seriously. All black. Head-to-toe, including her face. I am unsure of how she was able to see anything, but that is beside the point. The theme in 2021 was “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion,” which included many celebrities wearing red, white, and blue. Instead, she showed up looking like the black sock that always gets lost in the wash. However, Kardashian is far from the only celebrity who loves to avoid the theme.
Zendaya
Zendaya
In 2019, Zendaya wore the infamous Cinderella light-up dress. While I will admit that she looked stunning in it, the theme color was pink. Zendaya must be either colorblind or hard of hearing, because she heard pink and thought, “Eh, blue is close enough.” All the way back in 2016, the theme was “Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology.” Many celebrities wore outfits that were mainly silver and had a futuristic look. Rather than dressing in something futuristic, Zendaya wore a long brown dress that looked similar to mud running down the side of your car when you drive too fast over a puddle.
Gwyneth Paltrow
Gwyneth Paltrow
American actress Gwyneth Paltrow has attended the Met Gala a handful of times, but one of her most (or least) notable looks was worn at the 2019 Met Gala. The camp theme of the 2019 Met Gala implies extravagant or outlandish attire, but Paltrow showed up wearing a yellow maxi dress. Not only was it simple and ignored the theme completely, but it also looked much like a shower curtain. According to US Magazine, Paltrow stated, “I’m never going again. It was so un-fun... It was boiling. It was too crowded. I did not enjoy it at all.” That was back in 2013. She did, in fact, return to wear a shower curtain to the 2019 Met Gala.
Honorable Mentions
Honorable Mentions
Rihanna sent the internet into chaos in 2015 with her giant yellow dress. Although she matched the theme, people edited her dress into many memes. According to Cosmopolitan, Rihanna’s dress “...was transformed into everything from pizza to an omelette.” Miley Cyrus showed up at the 2019 Met Gala wearing a green and black sequin dress and, although it was beautiful, it was chic-- the opposite of camp. According to Insider, Frank Ocean wore an ensemble in 2019 that caused people on Twitter to “[mistake] him for a security guard for the event.” In 2014, the Met Gala theme was “Charles James: Beyond Fashion” and, while I am not exactly sure what that means, I am fairly certain it does not mean regular pants and a tank top-- which is what Cara Delevingne wore. She looked more like she belonged on an awkward first date than at the Met Gala. Last, but not least, Katy Perry wore a glittery burger costume to the 2019 Met Gala after-party. Do they not serve any food at the fashion event? Kim Kardashian probably paid someone to make sure there was no food so she could fit in her controversial Marilyn Monroe nude dress in 2022.
From Kim Kardashian wearing a scuba diving suit to Katy Perry wearing her own food, the Met Gala is one of the best events for generating celebrity memes. Even if you do not like fashion or care about celebrities, anyone can get a laugh from the ridiculous outfits and the memes that come with them.
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