The Theme Nobody Understood But Everyone Photographed
The 2019 Met Gala’s theme “Camp: Notes on Fashion” (inspired by Susan Sontag’s 1964 essay “Notes on ‘Camp’”) confused attendees, resulted in widely varied interpretations, and sparked debate about whether celebrities understood the assignment. The event featured Lady Gaga’s 4-outfit strip-tease, Billy Porter arriving as sun god carried by shirtless men, and numerous attendees wearing… just pink dresses.
The Susan Sontag Assignment
Camp, as defined by Sontag: irony, exaggeration, artifice, theatricality, humor, and aesthetic sensibility that values style over content. Camp is loving something ironically while also genuinely, finding beauty in the extravagant and absurd.
The theme required cultural literacy and fashion history knowledge many celebrities lacked. Result: some nailed it (Lady Gaga, Billy Porter, Ezra Miller’s multiple faces), while others wore pretty gowns that weren’t camp at all.
The Standout Moments
Billy Porter: Arrived as Egyptian sun god on litter carried by six shirtless men, wearing 24-karat gold headpiece and custom Brock Collection catsuit. Peak camp—theatrical, excessive, impossible to ignore.
Lady Gaga: Four costume reveals on pink carpet (16-foot train dress → hot pink gown → pink shift → black bra and fishnets), treating red carpet as performance art. Camp as theater.
Ezra Miller: Wore mask showing multiple eyes and faces. Disconcerting, surreal, memorable—understanding camp’s unsettling potential.
Jared Leto: Carried severed head (his own face). Macabre, theatrical, conversation-starting.
The Misses
Many celebrities wore ornate but fundamentally uncampy outfits:
- Beautiful but straightforward pink gowns (missing irony/exaggeration)
- Standard formal wear in bright colors
- Safe interpretations avoiding camp’s edge
The misses revealed camp’s difficulty—it requires embracing ridiculousness, which conflicts with looking conventionally beautiful for photos. Most celebrities prioritized looking good over being camp.
The Cultural Conversation
The event sparked discussions:
- Should Met Gala themes be more accessible?
- Is camp inherently queer (Sontag’s essay emphasized gay culture)?
- Who decides what’s camp?
- Can you be camp unintentionally, or does camp require self-awareness?
Fashion critics debated whether earnest extravagance (Katy Perry as chandelier) was camp or just costume.
The Social Media Spectacle
Met Gala dominated social media for 48 hours:
- 60+ million Instagram interactions
- Outfit rankings and critiques
- Memes about not understanding theme
- “Who wore it better” comparisons
- Designers’ reputations made or broken
The event’s cultural impact exceeded the actual exhibition—most people discussing camp never visited the Costume Institute exhibit.
The Legacy
Camp 2019 demonstrated Met Gala’s evolution from fashion event to internet spectacle. The outfits mattered less than viral moments and memes. Future themes (In America, Gilded Glamour) similarly sparked debate about celebrity understanding vs. commitment to maximalism.
The event succeeded by being talked about, even if half the conversation was “they didn’t get the assignment.”
Source: Vogue coverage, Susan Sontag essay, Met Gala social media analytics