The 2019 Met Gala took place last night, which explains why your social media feed is flooded with photos of celebrities in outrageous outfits. This year the theme was "camp," but not "camp" like boy scout uniforms and merit badges; camp as defined in Susan Montag's famous 1964 essay, a "love of the unnatural, of artifice and exaggeration."
Naturally, that involved bucking gender stereotypes.
"Camp taste draws on a mostly unacknowledged truth of taste: the most refined form of sexual attractiveness (as well as the most refined form of sexual pleasure) consists in going against the grain of one’s sex," Montag wrote in her essay. "What is most beautiful in virile men is something feminine; what is most beautiful in feminine women is something masculine."
Actor Michael Urie, best known from the TV show Ugly Betty, donned a gender-defying look that absolutely nailed the theme. The Christian Siriano ensemble was like a fabulous version of the Batman villain Two-Face: half strapless pink tulle ballgown (with half a necklace), and half sleek pinstriped suit (with half a bow tie.)
Urie's makeup was also impressive. The male half was bare with stubble, while the female half was shaved, with lipstick, foundation, eye shadow and mascara. His hair was half styled as well, and he sported one dangly earring.
On Instagram, Siriano shared an image of the outfit and wrote, "You can be your own prom date no matter who you are!" (Oh, if only I would have known this in high school.)
Hey, we've all been there before, right? Standing in front the closet for hours, trying to decide between the poofy ball gown and the stylish suit. Why not split the difference? Best of both worlds! On Twitter, people raved about the schizophrenic look.
Urie wasn't the only one to do some gender bending at the campy Met Gala. One Direction singer Harry Styles wore heels, an earring and a sheer top.
