A lot of people are still confused about what “camp,” the theme of this year’s Met Gala, actually means. But as soon as you set foot in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s new costume exhibit, all becomes clear: Camp has nothing to do with tie-dying t-shirts at summer camp. It has everything to do with basking in the fabulousness, irony, and humor of being extra.
From Balenciaga’s towering platform Crocs to Björk’s infamous swan dress and the Mugler oyster shell gown Cardi B wore to the Grammys, the “Camp: Notes on Fashion” exhibit is an exploration of how over-the-top fashion (or more accurately, FASHUN) has been used as both a form of expression and escapism throughout history. The concept was inspired by Susan Sontag’s 1964 essay that defines camp as “love of the unnatural: of artifice and exaggeration.”
Fom Harry Styles’ lace jumpsuit to Katy Perry’s life-size chandelier gown, the 2019 Met Gala’s “camp” theme invited an array of exaggerated, extravagant looks to its
red carpet.
And inside the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s galleries, the accompanying exhibition, “
Camp: Notes on Fashion,” expounded the theme further, defining “camp” through more than 250 objects.
Camp is a puffy-sleeved robe decorated like a can of Budweiser, elevating a mainstream beer to something fanciful and imaginative. It’s an adult’s second childhood, as seen through a bright peach suit decorated with choo-choo trains, smiling lions and grinning suns. It’s a polychrome silk satin ensemble by Richard Quinn that at once looks old-fashioned and chic.
A Budweiser-inspired outfit designed by Jeremy Scott of Moschino. Credit: Roy Rochlin/Getty Images
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