Did Met Gala co-chair Harry Styles get the best ‘camp’ look from Gucci?

met gala 2019 NY

I’ll be the one to say it: I don’t think Gucci’s creative director Alessandro Michele really understood the Met Gala’s camp theme? Michele dressed a ton of people for this year’s gala, and very few of them really seemed to embrace the theme, in my opinion. One of the few that went for it was… Met Gala co-chair Harry Styles, who decided to go for low-key drag. It’s not full drag, mind you. But Styles wore a delicate black jumpsuit, a pearl earring and chunky heels. Harry Styles honestly looked beautiful and like he had some understanding of what he was doing there. Here’s Harry and Alessandro’s interview on the carpet.

met gala 2019 NY

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Salma Hayek in Gucci… is this camp? It’s not, right? So many people thought “camp” was “just wear gold.” Like camp is “looking like Donald Trump’s toilet.”

Salma Hayek at arrivals for Camp: Notes...

Dakota Johnson was one of the Gucci ladies who seemed to interpret camp as “fairy queen.” IS IT THOUGH? I mean, I don’t hate this and I could totally make a camp argument for it, but I feel like she’s not meeting me halfway.

Dakota Johnson at arrivals for Camp: Not...

Speaking of fairy queens who aren’t meeting me halfway, Florence Welch also wore Gucci and her styling is so blah… I love Flo, but is she allergic to eyeliner and lipstick??

met gala 2019 NY

People were going gaga for Saoirse Ronan’s Gucci look, but again, the theme wasn’t Game of Thrones. What is this even supposed to be??

met gala 2019 NY

I hate Jared Leto. He wore Gucci and carried a fake severed head.

met gala 2019 NY

Photos courtesy of WENN, Getty, Avalon Red.

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36 Responses to “Did Met Gala co-chair Harry Styles get the best ‘camp’ look from Gucci?”

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  1. Eliza says:

    The exhibit had outfits from Versailles, you can see some inspiration there, honestly Harry and Alessandro do fit the theme. They’re in ruffled pirate shirts! And Versailles court heels! Camp isn’t just 80s, especially as the essay was from the 60s and the exhibit goes centuries back.

    Jared as always is try hard. If his head accessory wasn’t just on the runway it would have been campy, but it’s just a recycled gag and feels meh.

  2. Kimma1216 says:

    I never understand what the themes mean..I may be way out of touch but they always seem vague and hard to interpret? I’m assuming in their circles and with designers they may have a better idea of what the underlying theme is supposed to be. Like, did “camp” mean it was supposed to be cheesy or b-movie-ish?

    • Snowflake says:

      Same here!

    • Jerusha says:

      The definition of camp is John Water’s entire life and work. Nothing I’ve seen from the Gala is camp. It’s just mostly ugly dresses.

    • Thymic says:

      I think if you read the Met Gala’s official description, they took the widest possible meaning of camp here: flamboyant. Camp for me is something that’s beyond flamboyant and close to the bad taste stage. I think Harry Styles was spot on and Benedict Cumberbatch did a good job too. Jared Leto was just plain weird. Emily Blunt looked great but she was like the others who didn’t want to go out and risk looking stupid so she went for flamboyant rather than true camp.

  3. DahliaDee says:

    That fake severed head looks more like Russell Brand than Jared Leto.

  4. Marianne Hord says:

    I take Camp as being “Over-the-top”. So I think a lot of these looks achieved that with the drama of the sleeves or headpieces etc.

    • Esmom says:

      Yes but camp shouldn’t be try-hard and that’s the problem with a lot of the looks, imo.

    • delphi says:

      Saoirse Ronan looks like she’s kitted out in a costume from the Dino DiLaurentiis “Flash Gordon” film. And that is pretty darn camp. #allthebuglebeads

  5. Chef Grace says:

    I am getting so old. I just don’t get the Met Gala at all.

    • Squirrelgirl says:

      I don’t get it either. I must be way out of touch because when I heard “camp” I thought of tents and s’mores.

      • AnnaKist says:

        Ha! I wish you could see the text I sent my daughter early this morning – Aussie time. I said exactly that, even before I’d seen any of the outfits! Perhaps it’s because I live down under, don’t follow celebrities or high fashion, but I’m finding the whole Met Gala a bit of a yawn.

  6. duchess of hazard says:

    According to LaineyGossip a lot of celebs didn’t get the meaning of camp at all, in that they just want to look pretty! Which… isn’t necessarily camp.

    You get that a lot of the celebs just wanted to look pretty.

  7. Adrien says:

    Harry Styles’ outfit is just your regular BTS (the Korean boy and) stage costume. It’s not camp.

  8. Lexilla says:

    Honk for the Butterfly Qween behind Saoirse. That person understood the theme.

  9. Daisy says:

    I loved Harry’s outfit and how they executed the idea. Vogue published an interview talking about the whole process, it was really good. It wasn’t the “in you face” camp, instead they played with gender and femininity. Also he looked like he came out from an Oscar Wilde novel.
    From the rest of the Gucci gang, I only like Alessandro’s and Jared’s. The women looked like they could be in Game of Thrones, but they looked beautiful.
    Also people need to read Susan Sontag’s essay. There are many ways to do/be camp, so saying it’s only extravagant and over the top sparkly clothing is too simplistic.

    • T.Fanty says:

      The thing about camp, too, is that it’s consciously counter-cultural. So coming in femmed-up black with delicate touches when everyone else looks like a rainbow-barfing flamingo is an especially clever touch. I loved it and think that it stood out for all the right reasons.

  10. Karen2 says:

    Because of course the theme ‘Camp’ is totally a guy theme. So yes Harry got it more right than most. But really I expected to see more visible jock straps on the guys. Am I wrong. The very best camper was the anonymous guy who went to the after party with Lourdes Leon. lol.

  11. SM says:

    First I saw Harry I was a bit disappointed as I expected so much from him. He has a great sense of style that’s for sure. But seeing what Gucci did there to other people, I actually feel like he was the one most on theme.
    Jared Leto on the other hand…. you kind of got to give it to him, he is a narcissist who wears his narcissism as his severed head.

  12. Alissa says:

    Shout out to the person behind Saoirse who understood the theme.

    I thought Harry Styles looked great, but it needed a touch more to be camp. Jared Leto is the worst, and this is basically how he looks all the time anyway, so shrug.

    • Steph says:

      I said the same thing about the person behind Saoirse. I did some digging and it’s Keiynan Lonsdale. He is Kid Flash and was in Love, Simon. He looked amazing.

  13. Veronica S. says:

    Jared Leto is exhausting.

    I admit that on anybody else, I would hate Florence Welch’s look, but she’s the kind of woman who gets away with dragon queen, eh? I wish she’d done more with her hair and makeup, but she’s always been intentionally low key with her face.

  14. Raven says:

    Harry’s outfit was the bare mineral of the thing and I don’t have any idea why he was co-Chair

  15. Mabs A'Mabbin says:

    I love Flo so much, so she’s awesome lol.

  16. Erin says:

    Saoriase Ronan’s dress is hideous. I don’t care if Gucci made it, it’s still absolutely revolting.

  17. Steph says:

    I need to know who is behind Saoirse and where I can get a better look at that.

    • Steph says:

      Found it! It’s Keiyan Lonsdale. He looked fabulous! Can he get a post?!

  18. Lynne says:

    I thought Harry nailed it. And attitude is everything and he brought it lol

  19. LeLe says:

    Can somebody please explain what “camp” means? I guess I’m old and totally don’t get it.

  20. Matthew W says:

    “I hate Jared Leto”. Best. Take. Ever. LMAO…

  21. Diane says:

    I thought Harry looked sexy, and kept some of his own rock star style. He was having fun and didn’t take himself too seriously. Some of the guys just wore black suits. I thought it was subtle without looking silly. Plus I’m so tired of people saying that clothes are either boy or girl this has a bit of both. I think he is quite masculine with the facial hair but that the subtle ruffles and shoes are cool. Not a fan of the earring, but I liked the fact that he dressed not at all like people thought he would. It looks comfortable too!

  22. ikki says:

    Dakota’s dress is GORGEOUS!
    Ever since Alessandro took helm of Gucci design, I’ve been a fan