The Selfie Behind It All — Rouge Magazine

Flashing cameras, 2,000-dollar tuxedos, 50,000-dollar tickets, intricate hair and makeup diligently created by talented makeup artists are only a glimpse of what the Met Gala offers. The Met Gala is an annual fundraiser to support the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute and has become one of the most significant fashion events of the year. The current chair is Anna Wintour, the editor-in-chief of Vogue. An invitation from Anna Wintour is akin to making the Hall of Fame. Every year, there is a relevant theme that invitees are requested to follow. Some of the most popular past themes include “Heavenly Bodies” (2017), “Camp” (2019), and this year's “Karl Lagerfeld: Line of Beauty.”

Usually, the only Met Gala content we get to see is from photographers and videographers approved by Anna Wintour for our viewing purposes. Even the highly esteemed guests are encouraged to put their phones away at the event. Unless you are invited, there is no way of knowing what truly takes place at the gala. That was until the arrival of the now-infamous ‘Met Gala Bathroom Selfie’. The first selfie was released in 2017 by everyone’s favorite trendstarter and Kardashian-Jenner, Kylie. Since then, it has become an annual event followers worldwide look forward to.

As viewers and followers, we tend to put celebrities on a pedestal, believing they are beyond us and better than us in ways we can never compete. This can become super unhealthy when we all compare ourselves to those we are fans of. The infamous Met Gala selfie goes against that idea of the perfectly quaffed, perfectly dressed, perfectly photographed celebrity. In the Met Gala selfie, we see them as another human being, just a little better-dressed than us, as we watch from home. It brings a sense of casualty and accessibility to the realm of fashion, which tends to feel out of reach to the average person. Fashion is more than just a metric of wealth, but rather a way every individual expresses themselves to the world. Everyone, get to the bathrooms and start taking your “fit pic of the day”.

SOURCES:

Bonner, M (2023). Wait, What Actually Happens at the Met Gala? Cosmopolitan. Retrieved October 3, 2023, from https://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/celebs/a39875972/what-happens-at-met-gala-inside/

Hoffower, H and Davis, D (2020). The Party of the Year for the Fashion World… Insider. Retrieved October 3, 2023, from https://www.businessinsider.com/met-gala-2018-theme-cost-ticket-dress-jewlery-2018-5

Taylor, E (2023). Met Gala Themes Over the Year: A Look Back at Many First Mondays in May. Vogue. Retrieved October 3, 2023, from https://www.vogue.com/article/met-gala-themes

Written by Katherine Fivgas
Copyedited by Rachel Odling
Graphic by Camille Mosier