Get ready for Cannes fashion, folks. The much-touted Met Gala is mercifully over. But we will be bombarded with multiple images of a few Bollywood stars on the red carpet, who supposedly “put India on the global fashion map”. Let’s get the record straight. The Met Gala is a highly publicised fundraiser for a prestigious museum in New York. The event is controlled by an imperious grande dame called Anna Wintour, feared and despised in equal measure.
It has become the most hyped glamour event on the planet with high-profile celebrities working on their costumes for months. To be seen at the Met Gala is considered a badge of honour, even though it comes with a hefty price tag. There are no free lunches/dinners/cocktails in this set up. Seats cost up to 063 lakh each, and where you are placed is entirely up to madame Wintour. Conversely, a film star gets to sit at a billionaire patron’s table. Or at a sponsor’s table if the star endorses that particular brand. You don’t need to be a global icon to get invited. You just need to know the right billionaire.
Kiara Advani at the Met Gala | AP
Take this year’s buzz over Shah Rukh Khan’s Met Gala debut. Why not? Americans may not have heard of SRK or Kiara Advani. Perhaps, the entertainment world knows who Diljit Dosanjh is. But the others are unknowns, largely ignored by the international press. Priyanka Chopra, now on her fifth appearance, is seen as an American celebrity of colour. Sadly, Indian stars rank low in the Met Gala pecking order. They are ushered onto the red carpet unfairly early—well before the paparazzi frenzy begins. Nobody calls out their names or asks them to pose.
This year’s theme was very specific. It was the first time race was addressed, going by the enigmatic dress code: Superfine: Tailoring Black Style. It was designed as a homage, a cultural and historical look at Black style over 300 years, through the lens of “dandyism’’.
Many supernovas got it right. But most fell flat on their face. Diljit, channelling the legendary Maharaja of Patiala, looked as if he was auditioning for his biopic. SRK was outfitted like ‘Mandrake the Magician’, perhaps intentionally. The women fared a bit better, with Chopra looking straight out of Gone With the Wind and Natasha Poonawala in an antique Parsi gara resembling Mary, Queen of Scots at a Parsi Navjote. One guest who nailed the theme was Mona Patel, whose sharply tailored, androgynous outfit stood out.
But one wonders at the incredible cache attached to this one museum. There are other splendid museums across the world (several in India) that could use support. Problem is, we don’t have a Wintour to call the shots and summon the biggest names to what is really her own ego trip. Yet, they flock!
I had a problem with the theme as well. Given how marginalised a majority of Blacks continue to be in the US, it seems absurd to be celebrating their ‘style’ which was born out of defiance and a blatant lack of acceptance. I found it hard to reconcile myself to the condescension. Hollywood remains deeply divided with outspoken Black stars openly accusing studios of racial discrimination. How many Blacks did you count on the red carpet? As for our overwhelmed stars, proudly strutting their stuff, hoping to grab eyeballs, remember, you are there because your patrons can sell more of their products, and not for your impressive “achievements’’.
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