From a severed head to Lady Gaga’s striptease, this year’s Met Gala has been dubbed the most extreme ever.
Fashion’s A-list strutted the dusty pink carpet on the steps of New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art for Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour’s annual Costume Institute benefit.
This year’s VVVIP gala was themed around “Camp: Notes on Fashion”, with Oscar-winner Gaga, Gucci creative director Alessandro Michele, singer and Gucci muse Harry Styles, and tennis champion Serena Williams joining Wintour to co-chair the event.
The “camp” theme was based on Susan Sontag’s 1964 essay “Notes on Camp”, with US Vogue describing it as a “feather and flounce-filled fantasia”.
Wearing four separate looks concealed under a hot pink gown, Gaga stripped down to her bra and underwear in a striptease spectacle that one critic described as “fashion as performance”.
The A Star is Born actor, 33, removed the top layer of her frock to reveal a strapless black dress underneath — and it didn’t stop there.
With designer Maxwell clutching a lint roller, she peeled that off too, uncovering a figure-hugging fuchsia frock teamed with Tiffany & Co. diamonds.
She then stripped down to her bra, knickers and a pair of fishnets.
Jared Leto gave new meaning to the term “get ahead”, giving the ball one of its truly OTT moments — wearing Gucci, he clutched a replica of his own head.
Not to be outdone, Kim Kardashian showed off her tiny waist in a custom wet-look Thierry Mugler dress, while her “momager” Kris Jenner looked almost unrecognisable in a peroxide wig.
“I’m kind of channelling David Bowie and the opera coat. A couple hours ago, Kylie (Jenner) decided I should be blonde,” Jenner told E!
Jenner’s other daughters, Kylie and Kendall, wore matching Versace, while Hailey Bieber turned heads in a millennial pink dress.
She raised eyebrows with a visible G-string by Alexander Wang, who dubbed the intentionally-visible underwear that spelled out “Wang” as a “crystal nameplate thong”.
Katy Perry went as a human chandelier, wearing a Moschino ensemble compete with faux candles, while Emily Ratajkowski wore a Cher-inspired near-naked dress — complete with a winged headpiece — by Dundas.
Former One Direction singer Styles sported a sheer Gucci blouse, teamed with a single drop-pearl earring and black nail polish, while his co-chair Williams wore yellow Versace with an unlikely shoe choice — a pair of highlighter-yellow Nike sneakers.
Other standouts were a Las Vegas-esque Celine Dion in fringed Oscar de la Renta, Bella Hadid — who seemed to forget her underwear — in Moschino, and her sister, Gigi Hadid, who wore a silver sci-fi Michale Kors suit and helmet.
Australian celebrity stylist Elliot Garnaut said Gaga’s dramatic entrance was “literally fashion as performance”.
“It’s the embodiment of extra,” Garnaut told News Corp Australia.
Reflecting on Kardashian’s outfit, Garnaut said she brought “high drama with just the right amount of total tasteless”.
Here’s what you can expect with tomorrow’s Parramatta weather
As summer sets in what can locals expect tomorrow? We have the latest word from the Weather Bureau.
Here’s what you can expect with tomorrow’s Parramatta weather
As summer sets in what can locals expect tomorrow? We have the latest word from the Weather Bureau.