your guide to understanding this year’s met gala theme

Books + Brie
May 2, 2019
2 min read

Updated: Jun 23, 2019

Viktor & Rolf SS19 Couture / Photo: Kristy Sparow for Getty Images

I kind of lose my mind this time every year.

You see, the first Monday in May is one of my favourite days of the year.

I feel a wide range of motions the day of the Met Gala. On one hand, I am so incredibly excited for the event. At the same time, I am always so incredibly disappointed by the vast number of guests who arrive in prom dresses, totally disregarding the theme.

And the themes this past few years have been so amazing, but only a few guests have taken advantage of the fact. I thought nothing could top last year’s theme, Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination, but I was mistaken.

This year’s theme: camp.

I’m so excited for this year’s theme that I’m getting lightheaded just writing this article (Remember when I said I go a little crazy this time of year?).

Read the five articles below to get an overview of what camp means in fashion.

Notes on "Camp"

by Susan Sontag

Read the inspiration and source material for this year's theme here.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Presents “Camp: Notes on Fashion” for Its Spring 2019 Exhibition

by Hamish Bowles for Vogue

The 2019 theme announcement can be read here.

Met Costume Institute Embraces ‘Camp’ for 2019 Blockbuster Show

by Vanessa Friedman for The New York Times

One of fashion's best reporters discusses camp with one of this year's co-hosts, Serena Williams. Read it here.

What The Met Gala's Celeb Guests Need To Get Right About Camp

by Liam Hess for i-D

This article offers insight into the contradictions and specifics of camp.

A Very This-Season Guide to Susan Sontag’s Essay “Notes on Camp”

by Steff Yotka for Vogue

Sontag's theory is applied to AW19 RTW shows in this article.

Still can’t grasp the concept of camp? I got you.

Earlier this week, I was procrastinating studying for my French exam, so, naturally, I started looking at William Wegman’s weimaraner photos, hoping to find some that fit the Met Gala’s theme.

Here’s what I found: