Amal Clooney wore pants to the Met Gala because of female empowerment

Costume Institute Gala  in NYC

I generally felt like this year’s Met Gala theme should have been taken literally at every possible level. Like, if you’re not dressed up like the pope or the Virgin Mary, what’s the point?? But I get that everyone wanted to do their own spin on things. I still don’t really understand Amal Clooney’s whole look though, and what it had to do with Catholic imagery or Catholicism. As it turns out, it had absolutely nothing to do with Catholic imagery, as the designer told Harper’s Bazaar.

The theme of this year’s gala was Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination. Not only did Amal Clooney deliver on the theme, she also managed to put her own unique spin on her outfit, which was the work of London-based designer Richard Quinn. The lawyer was one of the few women at the celebrity-filled event to wear trousers on the red carpet.

“The overall look was a hybrid and [the idea] was to give it a model edge as well as tie in with the theme,” Quinn told Harpers Bazaar the day after the gala. “Her decision to wear trousers was her way of depicting female empowerment and modern religion by referencing the stringent oppression that women faced.”

[From Harper’s Bazaar]

But the theme wasn’t modern religion. The theme wasn’t female empowerment through religion. It was Catholic imagery!! All of that fancy talk to over-explain a mullet dress that had nothing to do with the theme! Quinn kept talking in that Bazaar piece, by the way, but that quote was the most significant. Also, it turns out that Amal didn’t even wear the mullet dress throughout the gala – as soon as she was done on the carpet, she changed in a slinky Tom Ford. Anna Wintour told Stephen Colbert:

“She wore this incredible dress on the red carpet that was designed by a young British designer called Richard Quinn but it was made of tin foil, so she was a little bit concerned it might rip during the evening… She went into the gift shop and she changed into this extraordinary Tom Ford dress, which is designed to look like stained glass.”

[From Today]

Well, now we know why Amal was so extra on the carpet – she wanted the Quinn dress to be photographed from every angle because she was changing out of that bitch ASAP. As for this Tom Ford… it is a good gown, and it does look like stained glass. She should have worn THIS to the Met Gala.

George and Amal Clooney are looking sharp after the Met Gala in New York

George and Amal Clooney are looking sharp after the Met Gala in New York

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, WENN.

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52 Responses to “Amal Clooney wore pants to the Met Gala because of female empowerment”

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  1. savu says:

    …but girl those female empowerment pants were FUG!!!

    • Ravensdaughter says:

      I didn’t notice the pants until just now. As a dress, her ensemble was pretty.
      If you’re going to wear pants, WEAR PANTS!

  2. Swack says:

    A woman wearing pants, IMO, does not have anything to do with female empowerment. We are out of the times when women were expected to wear dresses/skirts when going out in public.

    • Renee2 says:

      Maybe not, but Florynce Kennedy pointed out that in two of the most sexist and archaic institutions it is the men who are wearing the dresses.

    • Annabelle Bronstein says:

      Not totally true, Swack. Especially in formal work settings women are often still expected to wear skirts instead of pants.

  3. Rapunzel says:

    It was garden of Eden imagery. I think the dress fit the theme just fine. And the dress/ pants combo was perfect for the garden of Eden because it involved Adam and Eve. And the garden was where Adam and Eve ate from the tree, learned they were naked, and covered up. So the garden is basically where gender division in clothing started.

    Of course that’s not the explanation Amal used.

  4. Janet says:

    She’s way too skinny which is not empowering for any woman. The red dress however IS what she should have worn to the Met Gala – it’s fabulous.

    • LORENA says:

      How? Naturally skinny women cant be empowering?

    • OG Cleo says:

      Lol. Sure, Jan.

    • Beth says:

      Sigh. I’m a naturally very skinny woman, and am just as empowering as any other sized woman. Should skinny women be ashamed of their bodies and think we’re weak and not good enough? No.

      • citney says:

        @Beth

        I agree, I too am a naturally thin woman, and seeing others criticise thin women makes me see red. I see it done to Angelina all the time, and now it’s being done to Amal.

    • Morning Coffee says:

      Really? I think an empowered woman gets to say and not everyone else cutting her down.

    • minx says:

      Women come in all shapes and sizes.

    • Agenbiter says:

      I agree with Janet. Of course naturally skinny women shouldn’t be body-shamed. But let’s not pretend that’s a big problem compared to pro-anorexia pressure women and girls face.

      For most people who claim ‘I’m just naturally skinny, I eat all the time!’ there are images available that belie that claim. Their weight loss is a choice, if eating disorders can be called a choice. Certain men are well-known for requiring boy-like figure in their gfs.

      • OG Cleo says:

        We don’t know if Amal decides to be very skinny or not, if she has an ED or not. As someone who is naturally skinny and tall, I get that assumption all the time and to be quite honest, I’m tired of hearing it over and over and seeing it perpetuated online, including here. So both of you can take your concern-trolling masquerading as body positivity and shove it where the sun don’t shine.

      • Agenbiter says:

        Google is your friend. You can easily see how Amal looked before the pressure of Clooney and being in the public eye. Same with Kate M., Tara Reid, Jennifer Connelly, Audrey Hepburn – this is not mysterious.

        “You can’t express concern about anorexia promotion. It might make skinny women like me feel bad!” does not sound like the heartfelt opinion of a ‘naturally thin’ woman. It sounds like an ED humblebrag

      • Tiffany :) says:

        “You can easily see how Amal looked before the pressure of Clooney and being in the public eye”

        Yes, she has aged. We all do. Women lose fullness from their faces as they age. At the end of the day, you are just attacking a woman for her looks and using assumptions and guesswork to try and justify it.

      • OG Cleo says:

        @Agenbiter
        “Sounds like an ED humblebrag.” Thanks proving my point exactly.

      • Agenbiter says:

        She aged a lot there between 2014 and 2015

  5. Neelyo says:

    Eh, it’s a little better than the Johansson excuse for wearing Marchesa.

  6. Milla says:

    She has zero fashion sense. That’s all. Nothing against her, but fashion icon? Nope.

  7. Beatrix says:

    Even if the theme isn’t “religion” or “female empowerment through religion,” one always retains the right to make a statement against oppression (in this case the statement of catholicism’s pervasive oppression of women/lbgtq) as one sees fit. See: Lena Waithe. Not to say that Amal made her statement well, as we can always criticize the execution. The wearer, however, can always criticize or make a statement in commentary of the grander theme overall.

    • savu says:

      I think most of us are on the same page here – sure you’re welcome to make a subversive point, but MAKE IT. We got Lena’s right away. If you have to go that far to explain it… it failed as a statement. Plus it was ugly! 😝

    • Tessy says:

      I’d be more impressed with the female empowerment angle if she tossed out the foot destroying 4 inch heels, which are the modern day equivalent of foot binding.

    • Tiffany :) says:

      Great point, Beatrix.

  8. Natters says:

    Demi Moore wore it best in her own mullet dress she created for the Oscars in 1989.

  9. Anastasia says:

    I don’t know, I think if you straight-up dress like the Pope or the Virgin Mary or something, it veers into culture appropriation or…Halloween.

    I liked the ones that were a bit more subtle but still on theme.

    • Jayna says:

      Absolutely. I found Rihanna’s headpiece bordering on offensive and not executing the fashion theme for the Met Gala well at all to be that literal. I did love the rest of Rihanna’s outfit. And if someone dressed like the Virgin Mary that is very offensive and/or tacky.

  10. minx says:

    I loved her Met Gala look. And she looked like she felt beautiful in it, she was sparkling, so that’s always appealing.

    • Rachel in August says:

      Agreed, I loved her outfit and she looked fabulous. It was different from all the others. I wouldn’t be caught dead in what Katy Perry wore, or Selena with her “unsupported cleavage.”

    • Alarmjaguar says:

      me, too. I thought it was gorgeous

  11. hey-ya says:

    …the weird thing is Bigly is forever nominating women for high office but something just goes wrong with so many of his nominees…

  12. Pandy says:

    Well how WONDERFUL that the gift shop sells Tom Ford gowns! Tom Ford gowns that actually feature Catholic Imagery!!!! A charmed life for sure, that Amal. I just know my size will be sold out next time I pop in to buy a Tom Ford gown.

    • Danit says:

      I can definitely drink some tea with you. But, in between going through the gift shop sale rack for Tom Ford gowns, she’s busy utilizing her camera-love to “bring attention to worthy causes” amirite?

      She LOVES being center of attention. She’s glowing… beaming. I’ve never seen her so happy. The showboating when she entered the red carpet. S-l-o-w-l-y making her rounds, eyeing every camera with Navy Seal-sniper accuracy. Damn, I was embarrassed for her not being embarrassed.

      Empowered women in the public eye is laudable, but there’s something so narcissistic and self-congratulatory about her.

    • LadyT says:

      She changed clothes in the gift shop. She brought her own gown, jewelry, shoes to do so.

      • PMZ says:

        LadyT, oh really? She didn’t buy her gown from the gift shop and hire the on-staff gift shop hair and make-up stylists? Oh thanks!

  13. tearose11 says:

    That Tom Fod is 10000x better than the fug tea cozy she wore. And surely, there were other ways to incorporate female empowerment than wearing tin foil? She would have easily dressed in pants, but kept it within the theme, look at Lena Waithe who was on point while supporting LGBTQ+ issues.
    Also look at how frigging powerful RiRi, Zendaya looked while rocking very Catholic themes. Meh-h I don’t get the fuss over Amal.

  14. Vegramen says:

    She makes a spectacle out of herself every time they’re out in public, with her thirstiness. George actually looks embarrassed, like he doesn’t know how to tell her to pipe down. “Dahling, maybe you should stop making love to the cameras when we’re out.” Very odd creature. And the only thing she’s empowering is the fashion industry, the fashion magazines, and their advertising partners. Nothing wrong with enjoying a bit of fashion but it’s obviously the #1 focus of her life and she promotes a gargantuan materialism. Bonfire of the Vanities, social X-ray, Imelda Marcos, and so on. Also, it’s funny Charlotte Tilbury used a makeup product that was called Marie Antoinette for her Met Gala makeup. Amal is an absolute fool!

    • Jayna says:

      You are off base. George does not look embarrassed. George is beaming. He is beyond proud of her. That’s what I saw in the video. And on Watch What Happens Live, Andy and his guests were all at the gala. Someone said that George was having the most fun of everybody that night. Everybody agreed. He is the type of person that gives it his all at events. I will always give him that. He wasn’t stuck somewhere mad because someone didn’t say hi to him at the table (looking at you, Lena). George gets his party on. LOL

      It’s the number one focus of her life? They go months without us seeing them, you know, living their life. No one is denying that she loves the camera when at things like this. She does.
      But number one focus? Come on now. You are a little blinded by your intense dislike of her.

      • PMZ says:

        It’s hard to overlook Sahara desert-worthy camera thirst. It’s not the thirst that’s so offensive, it’s the fakery.

      • Iris says:

        He’s an alcoholic. Everybody agrees. And they have NEVER gone months without “us” seeing them. You’re an idiot.

      • Tiffany :) says:

        Can we disagree with other commenters without calling them an “idiot”, please? It’s so unnecessary.

      • Iris says:

        That’s such a patronizing statement, I had to laugh.

      • Vegramen says:

        Jayna, he’s (not-too-bad) an actor; he’s effective at covering his feelings most of the time. But if you contrast with his wedding and pre-wedding with-Amal shots, you can see a subtle difference. Then there wasn’t any hesitation or conflict in his face and body language. Now there is, but it’s subtle. I note lots of other posters on other forums have noticed it. I do think he’s embarrassed and very aware of what people are saying about her super-thirsty ways. Remember the Sony hacks? He follows his own coverage very closely.

        Dislike? That’s a strong word. I enjoy celeb gossip and she’s an odd figure; you can’t deny that. And the Klooney PR campaign has been over the top from the start and George is media savvy and an old-timer so he’s well aware it’s backfired. Will keep watching with great interest as to how/if ol’ George will try to do the impossible and get Amal and her mother (who’s pulling the strings behind the scenes to get her daughter into the most prominent socialite-lawyer position), the thirstiest mother-daughter duo in history, under control. I think George is going to fail, but we’ll see.

  15. Faulkner says:

    A friend showed me Amal Clooney’s galling fashion website — which is obviously run by her PR since they seem to ‘report’ what designers she is always wearing — for laughs one time. Sadly enough, though, on the front page were the details of the Oscar De La Renta outfit she wore when visiting with refugees in Berlin with George Clooney. I certainly hope the refugees appropriately appreciated that she wore pre-collection De La Renta to meet with them!

    Amal Clooney is utterly absurd.

    • Vegramen says:

      I think it’s run by a fan but Amal’s even-thirstier mother, Baria, drips feed info and sometimes even pics to them, as they find out immediately what she’s wearing. Never seen anything like these two.

  16. Iris says:

    The Twit and the Poseur. But…which is which??