SOPHIA ARNDT: Hi, this is Sophia Arndt.
EMMA VASA: And Emma Vasa.
ARNDT: From the Minnesota Daily, and welcome to The Daily Beat, our podcast dedicated to the arts and entertainment scene of the Twin Cities.
And today, we’re focusing on something a little bit bigger than the Twin Cities. We’re gonna talk about the Met Gala. So in case you weren’t aware, yesterday was the first Monday of May.
I hope you were looking on the internet, because it was the Met Gala, and there were a ton of really amazing looks. It’s the biggest night in fashion. We’re gonna be talking about it.
VASA: Yeah. So first we’re gonna kind of give a little history brief on the Met Gala. So it originally began in December of 1948 as a fundraiser for the newly founded Costuming Institute at the Metropolitan Museum.
One of the biggest names under the Met, I believe is recognizable across all fields, is Anna Wintour, who is the former editor-in-chief, and who has really transformed the Met into something that’s like far beyond traditional fashion and into something that is much more explorative and creative, artistic and kinda just pushing the bounds of what we typically see in runway fashion.
ARNDT: So last night was pretty significant. So off the bat, it was Anna Wintour’s last Met Gala that she got to run. As it was announced last year, she would no longer be the editor-in-chief at Vogue, and this would be her last time running the event that she had made so synonymous with highbrow fashion.
It’s also a notable night because there was a new chair at the Met Gala that brought a little bit of controversy. So for some context, the Met Gala usually has a chair of prominent fashion icons, whether it be movie personalities, celebrities, musicians.
So this year’s chairs were Beyoncé, making her return to the Met after 10 years, Nicole Kidman, iconic, Venus Williams, who is really prominent for her fashion in sports, Doja Cat, icon, and of course, Anna Wintour. But last night sparked a lot of controversy due to the role and prominence of Amazon CEO, Jeff Bezos.
For those unaware, there were a lot of protests and protest art surrounding the Met. There was a lot of critique on Bezos’s role in the night as a lot of people felt that his values didn’t reflect the night and didn’t reflect the pinnacle of art that is the Met.
So there were a lot of protests outside the Met. One of the most prominent ones I saw were the supply of pee bottles, which was in reference to a story that came out of the Amazon warehouses that Bezos had encouraged, to cut down on time costs, had encouraged employees to pee into bottles instead of going to the bathroom, allegedly.
There was a lot of talk about his role and his sort of stamp of approval that was coming from the fashion world especially as Amazon is one of the top suppliers of fast fashion. But yeah, that was a really prominent part of the night, another really significant part was the absence of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
It’s been tradition that the New York City Mayor will appear at the Met Gala as sort of a supportive figure I would say. But Mamdani in interviews said that he didn’t feel that he was needed there, his role is being mayor, not attending lavish parties.
VASA: Oh.
ARNDT: So it was quite shocking that he wouldn’t be there. The Met Gala theme for last night’s event was Costume Art with the dress code Fashion is Art, and with that, I went into the night really hoping to see a lot of referential pieces and outfits, whether it be really famous painters or famous moments of art.
And I’ll say, I came away, per usual with the Met Gala, a little disappointed. A lot of people not really taking risks, and I think that there has been some attributing that to people being anxious about how much critique the Met Gala has faced in the past, especially last year.
VASA: Yes.
ARNDT: There was a lot of conversation about.
VASA: You know, relating it to, like, “The Hunger Games” and, you know, coming at you from District 12 while the top 1% is out here in these lavish gowns, parties, these, I couldn’t even imagine how much these cost to even produce, things like that. So yeah, I think there definitely, there definitely was some safe takes.
ARNDT: I will say as an enjoyer of the Met Gala and enjoyer of fashion, while I understand the critique of these lavish parties and gowns feeling very capital-esc in reference to “The Hunger Games,” I think it’s important to acknowledge that this is a charity event. It is raising money for the Costume Institute.
I hoped going into tonight that there would be a lot of pieces paying homage to the beautiful creative artwork that is within the Met and within so many different art institutes around the world, and frankly, I came away a little disappointed.
I felt like a lot of people played it safe, specifically a lot of the men. Shocker. I was very excited for tonight and there were some very beautiful pieces.
VASA: Oh, absolutely.
ARNDT: I was very excited.
VASA: The first piece that I saw come up on any of my social media was Emma Chamberlain in the custom Mugler. Wow. Just what? Wow.
ARNDT: Stunning. Stunning piece of work.
VASA: How could I, for listeners, how can we describe this look?
ARNDT: It’s, it was this very beautiful referential piece to an artist’s palette. I don’t, I don’t know how the designers at Mugler made this, but they were able to make the fabric look like wet paint.
VASA: It’s like melting.
ARNDT: It’s stunning.
VASA: The sleeves.
ARNDT: Stunning, stunning, stunning.
VASA: The sleeves are what I’m like, “Wow.”
ARNDT: Yeah, truly.
VASA: It also, like, the bodice of this, I mean, it’s probably just, like, the yellow and the swirls, but it’s giving “Starry Night” in a way.
ARNDT: Yeah.
VASA: Which is cute, which I love. But yeah, this was, the whole look, the cohesive look all together is phenomenal.
ARNDT: As a longtime fan of Emma Chamberlain, she has consistently had fantastic fashion and specifically at the Met. And I was so, I was so in love with this look.
VASA: She has truly, like, stepped it up from where she started as, like, pinnacle social media influencer to now being, like, truly holding this, like, celebrity status, more of this, like, influencer in a sense, but, like, this transition that she’s made.
ARNDT: So her main role at the Met Gala is interviewer.
VASA: Yes.
ARNDT: She interviews for Vogue. So she has this role of being the viewer’s touch point into the event, and being our lens, and I applaud her for consistently having these phenomenal looks that show that even though she is not, quote-unquote, “one of the elites,” she still is able to have such reverence for fashion and for the, the night and for the art of it.
VASA: Mm-hmm. She is that bridge, for sure.
ARNDT: Another favorite look, personally for me, was Gracie Abrams’ custom Chanel. I thank the sky above every day that she has that running relationship with Chanel because every look that she wears with them is just absolutely stunning, and last night’s was no different.
She wore a custom gold embellished dress that was referential to Gustav Klimt’s “The Kiss” and his whole work. Another vision that was so expertly executed, Miss Sabrina Carpenter. Oh my goodness.
VASA: Oh so good.
ARNDT: So as a descriptor, for those who didn’t see it, she wore this amazing custom Dior piece made of film strips.
VASA: Yes.
ARNDT: From the “Sabrina” movie.
VASA: Yes.
ARNDT: An iconic, iconic Audrey Hepburn movie, and it was so fun. It was so fun.
VASA: Some commentary that I heard of they just, like, weren’t rocking with the, with Sabrina’s look or whatever, or it’s about to be, it’s supposed to be about art and whatever, and it’s like, film is art. What do you mean?
Film is art. So that, I think she so wonderfully just went against the grain in a sense, or just, like, was a little more unconventional, but executed it perfectly.
ARNDT: Another fantastic look was Madonna in a custom Saint Laurent. I’ll also say Bad Bunny’s was super fun. It was a commentary on the aging body. So for those who didn’t see it, Bad Bunny showed up in, like, old person makeup, he looked great.
VASA: Yes. I said he kinda reminds me of Will Ferrell in this look. They kind of look similar. Just with the gray hair, it, yeah. Anyways.
ARNDT: Another referential piece to Gustav Klimt was Hunter Schafer in a custom Prada. So her dress was in reference to a lesser-known Klimt painting called “Mäda Primavesi.”
It’s this beautiful blue-hued painting, which was reflected in her dress. I loved the way it was designed to have the background painting kind of merge with the fabric of her dress. It was so, it was so fun, and it was a custom Prada, which they always hit it out of the park. Another favorite of both of ours was Rachel Zegler.
VASA: Yes. So this look was inspired by the execution of “Lady Jane Grey,” and she was styled by Paul Delaoche. Wow. I mean, I say that or I say this every time I’m wowed by someone’s look, but truly wow.
ARNDT: It’s a thin blindfold.
VASA: Yes.
ARNDT: It’s in reference to the painting which shows the moment before Lady Jane Grey is executed, which is in the title of it.
VASA: Yes.
ARNDT: But it’s this really beautiful, somber painting of in a sense, in the painting, Lady Jane is blindfolded and reaching for the, the block which her head will be cut off on. And for, I think for Zegler to reference that painting is so perfect for her.
She’s an prominent young woman who has also been sort of torn apart by the public, and I think that it was a very, it was just, it was a really beautiful piece, and I loved, I love that somebody referenced that painting.
VASA: Another piece that I really loved and reminded me a little close to home was Heidi Klum in her, her custom look that is inspired by veiled sculptures, and this, her look more specifically, reminded me of “The Veiled Lady,” which you can see at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, one of my favorite pieces there.
Heidi always goes 110%. She nails a theme every single time, and she did it once again, of course. She does it like no one else. So yeah, that was, guys, go look up that piece, because I mean, she looks, she looks like a statue.
ARNDT: Another person who hits it out of the park every single time is Janelle Monáe. She was in a Christian Siriano, this beautiful look of trees and nature growing over pieces of like tech, of technology.
VASA: Yes.
ARNDT: I think while we were seeing a lot of referential pieces.
VASA: She created her own.
ARNDT: She created her own art.
VASA: Absolutely.
ARNDT: And I just love her.
VASA: Yeah.
ARNDT: I think she’s so cool, and she always has great looks. And another, for her, for her Met debut, Miss Chase Infiniti of “One Battle After Another.” She was in a gorgeous Thom Browne that really reminded me of a custom Mugler, an archival Mugler piece that we did not see last night.
But it reminded me a lot of a Mugler dress called the “Chimera,” which is this technicolor, scaled, beaded look. And Chase Infiniti, in a very similar look, is in this beaded, high technicolor dress. The beads are layered in a way where it looks like paint strokes that have been layered.
Oh, I just loved it, and she looked so stunning beautiful. She’s always had a great red carpet look. I’ll own this. I have a very controversial worst look take.
VASA: Yeah. She does.
ARNDT: Uh, besides some people, OK. Here was my thing.
VASA: And part of it I can agree. Part of it I can agree, so break it down for us.
ARNDT: Breaking it down for my least favorite looks of the night, first of all, Margot Robbie, I’m disappointed. Margot Robbie was in a skin-colored beige shiny dress, without much more to say about it. And we saw a lot of lukewarm bodycon illusion dresses, which I think could be executed well if done correctly, like.
VASA: Yes, like the conversation of body is art, and like we are art in of itself. I think that’s a great connection point, and how body is art and how we are art as beings, I think is an important and interesting conversation to have. It can also be executed differently other than sheer dresses. Look at my figure. I think there are other ways to do this.
ARNDT: I very much agree. I think that there are ways to comment on a body being art, very similar to how Bad Bunny approached it. Because one of the, one of the sections of the new art installation that was being highlighted was the aging body and how it’s shown throughout art.
I think that there was a chance to do some really beautiful looks surrounding that. But instead, we just saw boring, sheer dresses.
VASA: And it’s like we see that on every other red carpet.
ARNDT: I see that on every. And I’m sorry, but Gigi Hadid.
VASA: Yeah.
ARNDT: It’s a beautiful, it’s a beautiful Miu Miu dress.
VASA: I think
ARNDT: And I love their dresses, but I don’t know.
VASA: I think I saw her do an interview where it was supposed to be representative of, like, the younger Miu Miu style, where kind of it’s, like, Miu Miu is directed or more advertised towards a younger audience.
And so it has this, like, fresher, feminine look to it. And sure, you’re hitting on modern trends of, I guess sheer dresses are, you know, trending of course, especially within the last year or two, I’d say. But again, like we were saying, eh.
ARNDT: Yeah. Another eh was Tate McRae. I didn’t like it.
VASA: Yeah.
ARNDT: It’s a beautiful dress.
VASA: She looks gorge. She looks amazing.
ARNDT: I’ll say this, she looked, yeah, she looked stunning. It’s a well-constructed dress. There’s this meeting of, like, feathers, golden feathers.
VASA: Right. So.
ARNDT: With, like, really extravagant lace.
VASA: I think it was giving reference to the “Winged Victory” a little bit, potentially, but, like, I don’t know. I couldn’t connect the dots.
ARNDT: If it’s gonna be “Winged Victory,” you know who took it home was Kendall Jenner. She was in this gorgeous Gap Studio, simple, I’ll give it that. It was a simple, white sort of draped dress, but there was a moment where she had the wings. After walking the carpet she wore these, this cape that resembled the “Winged Victory” wings.
VASA: Yes.
ARNDT: And I, I admired that the draping did look structured like marble.
VASA: Yes.
ARNDT: Like, that’s how you do a “Winged Victory” reference. Another meh, Blake Lively, archival Versace. Gave prom. I really, it felt like two dresses that were, like, constructed together.
VASA: Okay, yeah.
ARNDT: The top of a different dress and the top of a both could be great dresses. Right. But together it doesn’t work. And my most controversial take. This is, yeah. Of the night, it was Connor Storrie in his Saint Laurent and Hudson Williams.
Now, before the Heated Rivalry fans come for me, I’ll say this, I actually liked what Hudson Williams was wearing. I thought the blue, he was in this blue tailored suit. Cropped, cropped suit with.
VASA: And then there was also a draping train that came with it. It was like a thicker material.
ARNDT: Yeah. Yeah.
VASA: Very elegant. It was interesting.
ARNDT: It was elegant, lot of textures. Very structured. I liked it. The makeup threw me off.
VASA: The makeup was a mess.
ARNDT: Here’s my thing, I love to see a man with makeup. I think it’s really brave, especially to be wearing it on a, such a prominent night.
However, it looked messy.
It looked like something I did in the sixth grade when I was first figuring out makeup. It could’ve been executed in a way where it’s referential to paintings, and really like digging into that textured look.
VASA: Right.
ARNDT: But it just, it looked like they lost their blending brush. Connor Storrie, I love him. He has consistently pushed the needle with where men’s fashion can be on a red carpet, and I applaud him for that.
So imagine my disappointment when Connor Storrie pulls up in high-waisted pants and a cropped polka dot halter top. It looked beautiful. Like it was, it looked
VASA: It’s gorgeous
ARNDT: It was, I.
VASA: There’s a cape with it.
ARNDT: It’s a cape.
VASA: There’s a veil kind of cape thing.
ARNDT: There was movement with it which I did enjoy, but it just didn’t feel Met. I looked at it and I was like, “Oh, okay, polka dots.” There was nothing that struck me as avant-garde or, you know, on theme with the night. It’s not referencing a famous painter or a famous fashion house. It’s just polka dots. And his arms.
VASA: Do you think with this being Connor and Hudson’s first Met appearance, like ever, obviously they’ve blown up into stardom within this last year, do you think the stylists make an active choice to play it safe?
ARNDT: I think it’s definitely a consideration. But I will also say I don’t think the same grace is afforded to women on their first Met. I mean, even just looking at the comparison of Chase Infiniti, it was her first Met and she knocked it out of the park. On theme, wore something that is playing it a little safe.
It was a sleeveless dress, very structured, and could be considered playing it safe just in terms of like it’s not super avant-garde. But she’s still on theme.
VASA: Why is it so hard for the men of the Met to really hit it home?
ARNDT: And I think that there, there was such an opportunity to reference the creative process or to reference there, I mean, looking at all these different painters, there are paintings of men that they could’ve referenced.
VASA: Yeah.
ARNDT: So I have a lot of feelings about both of those looks. I thought they were kind of boring. I do think Hudson’s was the better of the two despite the makeup look. Anyways, shocker, the men played it safe and didn’t do anything super cool or fun for me.
VASA: The majority of them.
ARNDT: The majority of them. There were some that really knocked it out of the park.
VASA: Yup.
ARNDT: Colman Domingo, I love you always. But with that being said, those are our thoughts on this year’s Met Gala.
VASA: Let us know yours.
ARNDT: Let us know yours, truly. We wanted to take a moment to thank everyone listening, reading, engaging with The Minnesota Daily. This is Emma and I’s last story as reporters at The Minnesota Daily and reporters at the University of Minnesota.
VASA: Cause we graduating.
ARNDT: We graduating, baby.
VASA: We graduating.
ARNDT: But in truth, this has been one of the best jobs I’ve had in my life, and I think it will go on to be one of my favorites. It’s been such a privilege to report on the beautiful, vibrant artist community of the Twin Cities, and to report on a community that I’ve called home.
VASA: Yeah.
ARNDT: So thank you so much for listening. I hope you enjoyed it. This podcast was produced by Ceci Heinen. If you have any questions, comments, concerns, you can reach us at [email protected].
This is Sophia Arndt.
VASA: And Emma Vasa.
ARNDT: We hope you enjoyed.
