Each year since 1948, the annual Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute’s Met Gala celebrates the fusion of art and fashion with a superstar-infused event to raise funds for upcoming fashion exhibits the institute will house. This year, the institute’s fashion exhibit welcomes “Camp: Notes on Fashion” May 9 through September 8. More than 250 designs existing from the seventeenth century to present day will be revealed.
This year’s theme is inspired by Susan Sontag’s piece published in 1964 but has taken a modernized and restored route in celebration of pop culture, art and the coalesce of drag queen culture. Scheduled for May 6 with Gucci as a sponsor, “Camp” is expected to be a theme for the history books of fashion as Lady Gaga, Harry Styles, Serena Williams and Alessandro Michele serve as the acting authorities on the gala’s board. Together, with Met Gala main chair, Vogue Editor-In-Chief Anna Wintour, they will help to chaperone the guest list and event specifics as a whole. To commemorate this unbelievably colossal and wonderful event, we highlighted what types of camp looks we expect to see at this year’s gala and marvel at our own Denver designers’ meticulous and extravagant pieces.
The Lowdown: The outfits for this shoot directly relate to the imaginative spirit that embodies Met Gala fashion, perception and anything extravagant. To properly evoke that new standard of collaboration between culture and art, we chose a grandiose gown from Nicholas Anthony. Sequined eyebrows and long lower lashes added to the bold, immense style.
The Lowdown: This adventurous look pulled supporting inspiration from Rihanna’s powerful color design donned at the 2017 Met Gala. Dimension, color and extraordinary elements played major roles with these designs and turquoise eyes pulled the “camp” look together. The tie-dyed fabric, delicate flower appliqué and impressive, hand-made metal neckpiece designed by Jesse Mathes provided not only theatrical but fantasy elements to the overall look which supports the gala’s theme. This neckpiece first debuted at Denver Fashion Week Spring 2019 and heavily elevates any outfit in a major way.
The Lowdown: On its own, the Jasmine Lewis Design Swarovski crystal headpiece with matching eyebrows turned heads and wholeheartedly encompassed the theme of “camp” with a theatrical, Vogue-meets-drag-queen look. Sontag confirmed, “As a taste in persons, Camp responds particularly to the markedly attenuated and to the strongly exaggerated.” This look combined a classic all-black outfit paired with major, show-stopping accessories.
The Lowdown: White and black stood the test of time in fashion as these colors continue to be popular year after year, however, Yaduvanshi’s second look was anything but basic. “What the camp eye appreciates is the unity, the force of the person,” Sontag noted. A mature and powerful MENEZ dress with racy cutouts paired beautifully with an ornamented Jasmine Lewis Design neckpiece. The mixture of art displayed in the neckpiece and the dress showcased elements of sophistication, craftsmanship and expressive style.
The Lowdown: In royal form, Gonzalez captured the embodiment of this year’s theme with this first-hand-look at Darkm0th’s newly constructed design, perfect for any extravagant performance. The elaborateness of this outfit paired with the humorous TV wallpaper background eludes “camp” in more ways than one. First, the caricatures on the wallpaper indicate a type of abandoned seriousness. Sontag’s description of camp describes the whole point of camp as a means to “dethrone the seriousness” and this look does just that. The extensive arm lengths provide more of an aesthetic approach to the design and not an actual representation of how long these cuts should be. Second, the whip earring provided a severely outlandish “camp” approach to standard jewelry. According to Sontag, “When something is just bad (rather than Camp), it’s often because it is too mediocre in ambition.”
Photography by Amanda Piela.
Location provided by The Curtis Hotel.
Models Amayas Gonzalez, George Cimochowski (Goldie Mae Productions), Kaiela Johnson and Sangya Yaduvanshi.
Makeup by Vanity Dollz Studio. Cha Cha Romero Artistic Director (Makeup/Hair), Malik Davis Apprentice (Makeup), Shanelle Crankshaw (Hair) and Aribella (Makeup/Hair).
Clothing and accessories provided by A.J. Machete, Ammunition Couture, Darkm0th Industry, Jasmine Lewis Design, Jesse Mathes Metalwork, Kimono Dragons, MENEZ, Nicholas Anthony Clothing and Zara.
Styled by Cheyenne Dickerson and Jennifer Tom.