I’m not a fashion girlie by any means and I’ve never tuned in live for the Met Gala’s red carpet, but I always look forward to the memes and tea the next day. The annual event, held the first Monday in May, is a fundraiser for the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. (Last year’s bash brought in over $17M; this year’s total has not been released yet.)
Every edition has a theme, and this year’s was “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty” in anticipation of the Costume Institute’s upcoming namesake exhibition examining the work of the late fashion designer and creative director of Fendi and Chanel, who died in 2019. Lagerfeld is credited with reviving Chanel’s reputation and pushing the envelope; however, he has also been criticized over the years for his notoriously bigoted attitudes toward migrants, plus-sized people, and many other subgroups.
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Unfortunately, none of this was mitigated by the celebrity red-carpet rollout, a highly anticipated part of the night that typically yields a generous bounty of memes the next day. This year’s gala was stoppered by one of the driest themes that left almost no room for interpretation, with many resorting to repetitive black and white tweed work, pearls and chains, and unimaginative dress cutouts.
Nevertheless, we persisted — so here is a round-up of Met Gala memes that elicited a stronger-than-usual exhale from my nose.
The highlight of the entire evening that brought some much-needed NYC realness to the most important night of the year in fashion was Variety’s live coverage of the cockroach scurrying up the striped carpet. Photographer Kevin Mazur snapped some good detail shots of the roach gone stag prior to its death that evening, and painter Travis Chapman immortalized the unexpected guest striking a red-carpet pose. Talk about committing to the theme!
Naturally, the Internet capitalized on this as one of the few memorable and meme-able moments of the evening and treated the now-deceased icon, perhaps an ambassador for La Roach-Posay, of the evening with the utmost respect from fan art to funeral cards.
Up next, we watched, we assumed, and we … lost? For as long as I can remember, the men who attend the Met Gala have been dragged up and down the aisle by their hair for pulling up to the scene in unremarkable black suits. Every year, the same Spiderman meme gets pulled off the shelf and dusted off for its rounds during and after the Met Gala. See below:
However, this year they came correct and we weren’t ashamed to admit it! Honestly, it was the most effort I’ve ever seen:
Sadly, no one took the above advice … Slay detected, nonetheless. But enough with that, I know all of you are here for the roasts. So without further ado:
Listen, I’ll never complain about seeing Janelle Monáe and I’m certainly a witness of fitness, but the resemblance is uncanny.
Olivia Wilde unintentionally raised awareness for those of us with a heavier flows — no choice but to stan! 😍
Except she wasn’t the only one …
Yikes: obligatory Rihanna pregnancy meme that’s on brand.
Some annual Pete Davidson slander with this photo that was truly on nobody’s 2023 predictions bingo card …
Catfight on the red carpet? I know, that was low-hanging fruit … But look at what I’m working with here!
Perhaps the sentiment that most resonates across the Internet, however — even more than the roach memes — is that we should all book-end this boring evening. Hopefully, I’ll have some more material for you next year.
Source: Hyperallergic.com