What is “camp,” and who’s gonna bring it to this year’s Met Gala?
Lady Gaga, Serena Williams, and Harry Styles are hosting this year’s affair, which will pay tribute to Susan Sontag’s Notes on Camp.
The 2019 Met Gala and its colossal wave of high fashion will descend upon uptown New York City this evening. This year's soiree is called Camp: Notes on Fashion, a nod to Susan Sontag's seminal 1964 essay "Notes on 'Camp," which — thank you, internet — is still available to read in full here. "Camp sees everything in quotation marks," Sontag wrote. "It's not a lamp, but a 'lamp'; not a woman, but a 'woman.'" The definition Sontag set forth established camp as exaggerated, theatrical, a bit naughty, and inherently queer: "Homosexuals, by and large, constitute the vanguard — and the most articulate audience — of Camp."
This year's Met Gala will be co-hosted by Lady Gaga, Serena Williams, Harry Styles, and Gucci's creative director Alessandro Michele. Given that attendees have a broader theme to work with than in the past — 2017 and 2018 were centered on Comme des Garçons' Rei Kawakubo and Catholic iconography, respectively — skirting around the task at hand is completely unacceptable this time around.
We're expecting camp at its absolute campiest this year, and while anything could happen, there's a number of attendees that we're feeling confident will rise to the occasion.
Kacey Musgraves
Kacey Musgraves' entire Golden Hour album cycle (and Instagram feed for that matter) is camp. She guest judged on Drag Race and sat on a giant rainbow at the iHeartRadio awards, for God's sake. This one is a no-brainer.
Lady Gaga
The past few years of being a Lady Gaga fan have felt uncharacteristically un-camp, but it appears as though Gaga is ready to get weird again with her upcoming LP. She's co-hosting the event, so fingers crossed for maximum zaniness.
Harry Styles
Harry's kept a relatively low profile since the tour behind his self-titled debut solo album, and tonight marks a re-emergence of sorts. He's brought glam rock extravagance before, so we've got faith in more than just a tuxedo scenario.
Frank Ocean
Enough said.
Bad Bunny
No word as to whether or not our king will make an appearance on the red carpet, but with his new Mountain Dew-green hair, we can only hope.
Jared Leto and Lana Del Rey
Jared and Lana consistently bring it. The pair attended the gala with this year's co-chair Alessandro Michele back in 2018, and considering how they're the faces of his latest Gucci Guilty campaign, this one feels like a given.
Cardi B
Bardi's looks have been flamboyant from the get-go, but she's been going especially over the top lately. We're ready for whatever she's got up her sleeves.
Rihanna
Duh. Nobody excels at their Met Gala homework quite like Riri, period. Whatever she brings, trust that jaws will drop.