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Gagapedia

The Met Gala, formally called the Costume Institute Gala and also known as the Met Ball, is an annual fundraising gala for the benefit of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute in New York City since 1946. It marks the grand opening of the Costume Institute's annual fashion exhibit. Each year's event celebrates the theme of that year's Costume Institute exhibition, and the exhibition sets the tone for the formal dress of the night since guest are expected to choose their fashion to match the theme of the exhibit. Each year the event also has honorary celebrity event day chairpersons.

May 3, 2010: American Woman: Fashioning a National Identify

It was reported that Lady Gaga had suffered from stage fright before performing. It was also reported that Oprah Winfrey had to convince her to perform. She had also skipped the red carpet introduction. When informed of this by a journalist, Gaga replied "I wasn’t nervous! To be honest with you, I don’t give a f*** about red carpets, and I never do them. I don’t like them. First of all – how could any of these outfits possibly look good with an ugly red carpet under them?

Arrival

Main article: Mario Testino
Custom dress and shoes by Miu Miu.

Performance

Setlist
  1. "Bad Romance"
  2. "Alejandro"
Custom catsuit and boots by Armani Privé.

Dinner

Custom jacket and pants by Prada.

Credits

May 4, 2015: China: Through the Looking Glass

Red Carpet

Custom outfit, cage and heels by Balenciaga, and pendants by Fred Leighton.

Inside

Making up at Carlyle Hotel

May 2, 2016: Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology

Red carpet

Custom outfit by Versace, tights by Wolford, and heels by Pleaser.

After party

May 6, 2019: Camp: Notes on Fashion

"In celebration of the opening, The Costume Institute Benefit, also known as The Met Gala, will take place on Monday, May 6, 2019.  The evening’s co-chairs will be Lady Gaga, Alessandro Michele, Harry Styles, Serena Williams, and Anna Wintour."

Lady Gaga was the first to arrive on the Pink Carpet, early, to execute what was essentially a fifteen-minute performance piece on Camp. With 8 members of the Haus of Gaga (Glam, Creative and Dance squads) in participation, Gaga proceeded to reveal 4 outfits -ascending and descending The Met steps between each reveal- while performing pantomimes with props and choreographed movements to the delight of the many press and onlookers.

It was an event without precedent. At one point, the crowds started chanting "Gaga!" after reveals. The hashtag #MetGaga was born and trending on social media. When asked how anyone else is supposed to follow this, Anna Wintour, watching for the top of the stairs, was heard saying "Aww, they should all just go home."

Preparations

In a Behind the scenes video filmed by Vogue, we see glimpses into the creative processes behind the creation of Gaga's four red carpet looks, the choreography and final make-up and hair prep (done in the Regis High School presidents' office) as well as, finalizing rehearsals, the procession down Fifth Avenue and the arrival onto the Met Gala Pink Carpet.

Transcription
[excited crowd talking]
[Male voice] Flexin'!
[exciting violin music]
[Young Fan] Lady Gaga! Can you say hi, the movie star?
Lady Gaga: Hi!
[fans screaming]
[street and crowd noises amplify]
Lady Gaga: I know intrinsically that I have a camp soul. So I knew because we're such a family, and the way that we work together as a creative collective, that what we would create together would be camp.
Brandon Maxwell: The creative process is very natural to both of us. It's as much having a conversation about what we're gonna do on the red carpet, as it is what we're gonna eat for lunch. Yeah, just do that. And maybe you add two more on top which is smaller, you know? As we tried things on, and went through sketches, it sort of came alive.
[upbeat electronic music]
Brandon Maxwell: The team and I presented her lot's of sketches she picked ones that she felt more attached to. It was pretty simple, I don't think we talked about it until we had a fitting. I think that speaks to our decade long friendship of working in very high stress scenarios. Once we've decided on a sketch, then we create a muslin. Which in this case, because everything came down to the fit, we had to measure exactly how the dress would fit over the previous dress, and the inner-workings of that dress had to reflect the dress underneath it. So everything had to be cut in similar or the same fabric. And because we had no room for error, we made everything in the actual fabric the first muslin. The massive cape-coat which had 25 yards of silk faille, we made two of those. So, you know we had 50 yards running around the studio. We did one garment each and then our head pattern maker actually has the same body measurements as Gaga, and because Gaga was in California, we tried those on and did a fashion show every night in the studio. Then we had only... 2 fittings with Gaga only two days prior,so we were really grateful that they fit.
Lady Gaga: When Brandon created that pink dress, and I saw it, I instantly was catapulted into a child-like place. What I really love about what we're doing is that it reads like an essay, or a poem, and it tells a story, and it's so in-line with Susan Sontag's notes, and I feel it's also very innocent. I also think this is the biggest fuck you of all time like this, but also like why?
Brandon Maxwell: Got it! Do you wanna just give me like a little...
Lady Gaga: Susan Sontag says in her Notes on 'Camp', that camp is a way of seeing the world as an aesthetic phenomenon, one that rests on innocence. And that innocence, which is revealed by the person, thing, performance, or otherwise, arrives on extravagance. However, this is to say that extravagance is not the point, Camp is serious in its attitude. And in its irony, it is ultimately anti-serious. It's not all about being as over the top as possible, because that's not the point. If it is over the top, and we're extravagant, that's what it is, but it's not the point to try to be as extravagant as possible.
[Camera man] Just do like a casual pose.
Lady Gaga: Sorry I'll try not to hit you and then you guys can float away and Richard, I would give them... There's an element to me in camp that is somewhat addressed in Susan's notes, but not in another way, that I perceive it which is to bemuse. And you could even pose on the side like this. Having my escorts in our parade with umbrellas. It's not raining, why are there umbrellas? Why? The length of the dress, so dramatic. Why? The eyelashes. Extravagant. Why?
[Lady Gaga counting beats]
It feels intelligent to me.
[Lady Gaga counting beats]
[laughter]
Brandon Maxwell: The second fitting we rehearsed every single thing, and that was probably the fitting that gave me the most stress because the outfits weren't finished yet. Gaga doesn't do anything on a small level, so she's rehearsing, she's full out rehearsing, and there are some hems not finished.
Lady Gaga: So we'll reveal this after the black dress, and then, I'll go like this. And I'm not gonna help you, you know what it is, go slower. Or is it one at a time. One! Two! And don't worry, we have 20 minutes. It could be in your pocket, or they could be in the wagon. Sorry I fired you [mumbles], but you know, we did do glasses out of backpacks. Me wearing fishnets, a bra, and panty, playing piano on-stage, this to me was camp because it hearkens back to cabaret. Camp becomes camp over time, so for my last reveal to be something that I did 10 years ago, or even more. It's camping out.
Brandon Maxwell: I knew I wanted to end with a bra and panty with her because that's really become a look over time that she's very known for. Also when we were very young, she used to saunter through the airport in her underwear, and into an olive garden, or wherever we were. I also loved the idea of being at the Met, at this event that's all about the clothes, with no clothes on.
Lady Gaga: Don't be afraid to.. Because I'm gonna be like Here we are, we've arrived House of Gaga, House of Fun. We're gonna walk in like snobs making it not snobby. That is camp.
[upbeat techno music]
[hair dryers blow]
Lady Gaga: Here we go. Wig cap on. Hour one. I want you to really channel your inner child today. The person in you that always wanted to dance, always wanted to perform. That is why you work here, I do not hire models. You are all beautiful to me, even more beautiful than a model. What we have that many on that carpet will not have, is their family, all that love, all that kinship. This is serious business, but that doesn't mean we need to be serious, it doesn't mean you have to be anything other than you. He sounds like he's encouraging, it's just he's in tremendous pain right now.
[soft techno music]
[Assistant] This is from Ana
Lady Gaga: Thank you! From Ana! She said thank you for the flowers. Oh shit, I dropped it. I'm sorry. Oh mother
Brandon Maxwell: Oh my god.
Lady Gaga: I know! Basically my hair with all the make-up. Isn't it perfect?
Brandon Maxwell: Oh my god.
Lady Gaga: The Hauf og Gaga doesn't fuck around.
[exciting piano music]
Fashion! plays ♪
♪ Fashion ♪
[soft murmur]
Lady Gaga: Our father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on Earth, as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as forgive those who trespass against us, lead us not into temptation, deliver us from evil, amen.
Fashion! plays ♪
♪ Fashion ♪
[Crew shouting directions]
Brandon Maxwell: The thing that I feel most proud of, is that almost 10 years ago, I went to the Met Gala for my first time, in her dressing room. 10 years later, I'm walking up the stairs with her, and right into the front door.
[exciting electropop music]
Fashion! plays ♪
♪ Look at me now, I feel on top of the world ♪
♪ Fashion ♪
Lady Gaga: This is the shot up here.
Brandon Maxwell: You never go into something like that thinking about what the world will think about it I mostly thought about every little kid like us.
Lady Gaga: This is really just us, being us, and camp is a part of who we are, it's not something we have to try to be. They could go underneath, and they could go over.
[Lady Gaga laughs]
Lady Gaga: The internet is gonna break with memes, I can't give you the number of memes, it's like really stupid.

Credits
  • Location: The Pierre, A Taj Hotel, New York.
  • Directed by Jessy Price
  • Editor: Molly Holtzinger
  • Music: "Fashion!"
  • Photography by Pierre Snaps

Camp! the Movie

  • Directed by Bardia Zeinali

Pink Carpet

Look 1

Custom outfit and headband by Brandon Maxwell.

Look 2

Custom outfit by Brandon Maxwell and a necklace by Tiffany & Co..

Look 3

Custom dress by Brandon Maxwell, sunglasses by Linda Farrow and N° 21 with Swarovski crystals, and a telephone clutch by Judith Leiber.

Look 4

Custom underwear by Brandon Maxwell with Swarovski crystals, heels by Pleaser customized by GEE with Swarovski crystals, and rings by Tiffany & Co..

Inside

Giving an opening speech

Speech transcript:

"[...] Sit down! And shut up! We have some incredible performances tonight and I would ask you, kindly, to pay attention. Are you are you quiet? Are you focused? Are you ready?!

Everyone, listen up! Susan Sontag says in her "Notes on "Camp"" that camp is a way of seeing the world as an aesthetic phenomenon; one that rests on the innocence, which is revealed by the person, thing, performance, or otherwise, arrives in extravagance. Extravagance, though, is not the point. Camp is serious business.

The people I am about to present have rested bravery, authenticity, strength, and love upon innocence in the most beautiful of ways. They understand, that as society changes, victory comes in the form of being yourself in an [inaudible] efforts to be defiant, other than simply representing themselves through their art in an innocent theatricality. Their art is not political, not chained to making a statement but hinged on their truth as storytellers. The embodiment of transformation is something as simple and as challenging as a butterfly wrestling out of its cocoon. I have no doubt my life that if I commented on their fashion, — [hand gesture] ‘eeew, stooop, nooo!’, — with a snap of my finger, it would be met with an eruption of resembling laughter which [inaudible] which just happened backstage.

This would be serious; though, there would be no confusion they would know [...]."

Links

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