By Rachel Zaretsky — Correspondent

Each May, the Big Apple hosts the Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. With a reputation for its guests’ dramatic attire, it has become one of the most reputable fashion events.

This year’s event was the first Gala since 2019 to be held at its usual time of year- the 2020 gala was canceled and 2021’s was held just 7 months ago in September.

This year’s featured Met exhibit was “In America: An Anthology of Fashion.” According to Vogue, the exhibit sheds some light on the “the overlooked backbone of American style”, and how American fashion has evolved.

The Met Gala’s dress code this year was “Gilded Glamor and White Tie.”  The Gilded Era, which was between the end of the Civil War and the start of World War I, was a time period full of innovation. According to the American Museum of Natural History, the term “Gilded Age” was coined by Mark Twain. It presents the contrast between a successful society and an ostentatious, but unsuccessful society.

SHS Freshman Sasha Nierenberg says that she likes watching the Met Gala. “I enjoy watching the Met Gala to see modern-day fashion and how it has evolved from past years.”

“Not only is the Met a huge event, but it’s also one that has some of the most unique outfits. I also love seeing celebrities… [take] on the year’s theme, and being able to discuss Met Gala outfits with others,” added Nirenberg.

“I love watching the Met Gala because of all the different interpretations each celebrity takes on the theme, especially this year,” said freshman Haily Fernando.

 “My favorite outfit this year was Camila Mendes’. I absolutely adore[d] this outfit” said Nirenberg. 

“Camila Mendes presented herself in a beautiful golden dress accompanied by gloves and an updo hairstyle that very much gave ’gilded glamor’. Her outfit took inspiration from Alice Vanderbilt, which I really enjoyed,” Nirenburg added.

“My favorite outfit has to be Shawn Mendes. He looked like he walked right out of the TV show, Bridgerton, and it definitely fit the theme. I’d say an honorable mention would be Blake Lively, she looked stunning,” said Fernando.

But there is a fine line between creative and confusing.

“My least favorite is definitely Kylie Jenner. Not sure what she was thinking when decided to wear a backwards baseball hat, but it wasn’t working” said Fernando.

“As much as I love Hoyeon Jung, her outfit was my least favorite this year. Her outfit was just too plain” said Nierenberg.

“It seemed more suited for a party than the Met Gala. I think that the Met is an event where it’s important to go all out and/or on theme, neither of which Jung did,” added Nierenberg.

Additionally, there was drama over Kim Kardashian wearing Marilyn Monroe’s dress. Monroe sang Happy Birthday to President Kennedy, while wearing this iconic outfit, and some were offended by her wearing it as she may have damaged it, but others think it was a great interpretation of this year’s theme. 

Scott Fortner, Marilyn Monore expert, says, “No one should have re-worn this dress,  [It’s] a national treasure”, said Fortner.

“If it was up to me, I would not have allowed [the dress to be worn] simply because of the importance of the piece in American cultural history, but let me be clear, this is nothing to do with Kim Kardashian,” added Fortner.

 “When I saw that Kim Kardashian wore Marilyn Monroe’s dress, I was a little confused as to why, but I don’t see much special about it,” said Fernando.

“Though the dress is iconic, I don’t see why she decided to wear it to the Met Gala,” Fernando added.

 “Not only did Kim Kardashian look absolutely fabulous in the dress, but it also was rather on theme… Marilyn Monroe and Kim Kardashian have been treated fairly similarly by society during their time of fame” said Nierenberg.

“To have a problem with a strong, famous woman wearing the dress of another strong, famous woman just seems silly to me,” she added. 

“The [Met Gala] moment has raised a level of awareness about Marilyn for a new generation,” Fortner stated. “The dress has its own importance. [Monroe] is a modern-day Cleopatra and she’ll have a cultural presence forever,” says Fortner.

Overall, the Gala was eventful and brought in a record number of 17.4 million dollars for next year’s exhibit.

“I’d say the Met gala is always a good watch!” said Fernando.