what is camp

It’s the first Monday in May AKA fashion’s biggest night- The Met Gala, a yearly gathering where celebrities and cultural influencers meet at the Met in New York City dressed to the nines according to the theme of the Met Costume Institute’s exhibit that year. This year brought us “Camp: Notes On Fashion” along with a metric ton of feathers and an army of unforgettably-creative looks that made me gasp in reverie and laugh at just how refreshingly comical it all is.

What is camp? -you might be asking. The exhibit aims to help answer that question, but still falls short. It’s failed seriousness and attempted sarcasm. It’s overindulgence and performance. Think: the extravagant lifestyle of Marie Antoinette, a mile-high fruit hat worn by a samba dancer, or the over-the-top persona of a drag queen. According to Susan Sontag’s 1964 essay “Notes on ‘Camp,'” from which this year’s Met exhibit gleaned much of its inspiration: “The essence of Camp is its love of the unnatural: of artifice and exaggeration.”

So, as you can imagine, this would make for a ton of really wacky and equally whimsical red carpet looks from our favorite celebrities. I waited in eager anticipation for tonight, and I definitely wasn’t disappointed!

I’ve gone through all of the red carpet photos and chose a few of my favorites to report on. While everyone looked really amazing, I only chose the looks that felt really creative to me, and weren’t just over-the-top for the sake of being over-the-top, with feathers and ruffles and tulle and all that good, campy stuff. I was looking for something I hadn’t ever really seen before, and was pleasantly surprised by how many truly amazing looks there were to choose from! Check out my picks below:

Absolute Top Favorite Looks of the 2019 Met Gala:

Lily Collins as Lisa Marie Presley

EXCUSE ME. Who gave Lily Collins the right to slay us all with this perfect look? It is by far my favorite look of the night in part because I’ve always loved the over-the-top beauty aesthetic of Priscilla Presley (the poofed hair, the winged eyeliner, the eternal youth- UGH!) and in part because Lily Collins just pulls it off so dang well. The headband, over the top hair, and ruffled dress all pair perfectly to create a look I’ll never forget!

lily collins dressed as priscilla presley at the 2019 met gala

Lady Gaga’s Metamorphosis

Camp is Lady Gaga’s specialty- one she’s been dishing out for years, ever since she hit it big in 2009, serving us looks like dresses made from a range of odd materials like Kermit plushes and meat, and creating spectacles, like when she showed up to an awards show in an egg. The fact that Lady Gaga is actually a persona is the essence of camp. All of this to say, I was expecting the Queen of Camp to outdo everyone on the red carpet- and she did, by serving not one, but four looks that she slowly revealed as she made her entrance alongside an entourage of backup dancers and makeup artists. When asked how anyone could follow Gaga’s surprising arrival, Anna Wintour replied that you simply couldn’t, and you should just go home.

lady gaga in a huge pink dress at the met gala 2019 camp

lady gaga in a black dress with an umbrella at the 2019 met gala camp

lady gaga in a hot pink dress at the 2019 met gala camp

lady gaga in bedazzled underwear at the met gala 2019 camp

Zendaya is Our Very Own Disney Princess

Zendaya has always been one of my favorite celebrities just because of how wholesome she is. Although she’s been a Disney channel star for pretty much her whole career, she never ended up falling off the deep end like many child stars do after missing out on having a normal childhood- which is why this recreation of Cinderella’s iconic blue dress is so endearing! Plus, the dress lights up, creating an even cooler look and an unforgettable moment of magic where her longtime stylist, dressed as the fairy godmother, lit the dress up with his wand.

zendaya as cinderella in a light up dress at the met gala 2019 camp

Diane Von Furstenberg x Lady Liberty

Iconic designer Diane Von Furstenberg looked positively radiant in her look inspired by Lady Liberty that featured an oversized print of a painting of herself done by Andy Warhol. You can’t get much more camp than wearing art of yourself, especially when it’s done by Warhol, a king of Pop Art and campy culture.

diane von furstenberg in a lady liberty dress at the 2019 met gala camp

Barbie: Kacey Musgraves Edition

Kacey Musgraves charmed us all in her monochrome, hot pink outfit inspired by Barbie- complete with shiny, silver pumps, a handbag shaped like a hairdryer, and long, blonde waves. Box her up and she would be any girl’s dream doll!

kacey musgraves dressed in hot pink as a barbie at the 2019 met gala camp

Katy Perry Lights Up the Red Carpet

How could I make this list without mentioning Katy Perry’s extremely extra chandelier costume? I mean, it’s so delightfully unexpected that I couldn’t help but smile, then appreciate the insane craftsmanship that went into making this incredibly intricate dress that actually lit up. Mad props, Katy Perry, this looks was fire (literally)!

katy perry as a chandelier at the 2019 met gala camp

Honorable Mentions

Yara Shahidi

Tracee Ellis Ross

Natasha Lyonne

Lucy Boynton

Liu Wen

Hailee Steinfeld

Florence Welch

Ezra Miller

Emma Roberts

Emily Ratajkowski

Dakota Johnson

Celine Dion

Billy Porter

Amber Valetta

Caroline Trentini

Cover photo from The New York Times. All other photos from Getty Images.

If you’re a follower of fashion, then you’ve probably already heard that the theme of this year’s Met Gala (fashion’s biggest event) and subsequent Met costume exhibit is “Camp: Notes On Fashion,” which will explore the concept of “camp” sensibility in fashion and culture through the lens of Susan Sontag’s 1964 essay “Notes On ‘Camp'”. If you’re like me, then you might be scratching your head and wondering “what is camp anyways?” Because, while I have heard the term before, I’ve never had a firm grasp on what it actually means. So, let’s break it down.

The origin of camp sensibility can be traced all the way back to the time of King Louis XVI, who lived in the overly-extravagant Versailles and was constantly surrounded by Parisian nobility dressed in highly-decorated, over-the-top garb that was almost funny in how insanely indulgent it was. Here, in the insanely extravagant, is where the impetus of camp sensibility lies. It’s all about pose and performance, creating a character and accentuating artifice. In the words of Susan Sontag:

The essence of Camp is its love of the unnatural: of artifice and exaggeration.
Susan Sontag, “Notes On ‘Camp'” (1964)

Balenciaga Crocs, which took the fashion world by storm with equal parts fascination and revulsion, are the perfect example of “camp” style. (Photo: Harper’s Bazaar UK)

In other words, fashion that exemplifies camp is outlandish, exaggerated, fantastic, passionate and naive. It is “art that proposes itself seriously, but cannot be taken altogether seriously because it is ‘too much.'” Imagine a pair of Balenciaga platform Crocs, or Lady Gaga in a meat dress. These are both delightful examples of campy fashion that are presented with seriousness, but fail to be taken seriously. In the words of Sontag, camp style is good because it is awful (in a fun way).

Camp taste turns its back on the good-bad axis of ordinary aesthetic judgment. Camp doesn’t reverse things. It doesn’t argue that the good is bad, or the bad is good. What it does is to offer for art (and life) a different — a supplementary — set of standards.
Susan Sontag, “Notes On ‘Camp'” (1964)

To live a life dedicated to camp, is to live a life of theater- which is why Lady Gaga, a fabricated pop persona, being one of the co-chairs of the Met Gala seems entirely appropriate and expected. Other co-chairs include Alessandro Michele, the creative director of a delightfully-campy Gucci, Serena Williams, who often wears over-the-top outfits for her tennis matches, and Harry Styles. If you’re curious to see how all of your favorite stars will interpret this theme, the Met Gala will take place on May 6.

In a delightfully camp Gucci collection by Alessandro Michele, a model cradles a realistic dragon as an accessory to their fantastic, medieval-inspired outfit. (Photo by Pietro D’aprano/Getty Images)

I absolutely adore camp sensibility, because I’m all about creating fantasy with fashion, which goes hand-in-hand with the idea of artifice and exaggeration that is the hallmark of camp. I’ve put together a few fun, over-the-top outfits that I thought were good examples of camp. Check them out below:

Happy Death Day

While wearing this outfit, I imagined myself a spurned widow at the funeral of her stupidly-rich husband that has left her everything- she’s happy, yet must pretend to be sad. The fake, purple roses only serve to add an artificially vivid touch to this mournful ensemble.

“Happy” Shirt: Forever21. Dress: H&M. Belt: Urban Outfitters. Shoes: DSW.

Loving Something Sweet

The goal of this outfit was to create something that was both sweet and also edgy, which is why I layered a sheer, tulle dress over a pair of overalls and finished it all off with a pair of neon green “ugly” sneakers and a gaudy, pink cowboy hat adorned with flowers. My stuffed alpaca, Sherbet, was the perfect, overly-sweet accessory to bring the whole look together.

Tulle Dress and Grey Shirt: Forever21. Overalls: Thrifted from a friend. Sneakers: New Balance. Hat: LadyGaga.com. Flower Crown (embellishing hat): Made by me.

50 Shades of Denim

I am a connoisseur of denim and own just about any garment you can get in this magical material. For this outfit, I decided to create a look entirely of denim (except shoes) that featured a denim shirt layered under an oversized denim dress, denim culottes and a denim jacket. The platform clogs and headscarf were just details to add a bit more fun to this entirely impractical, but equally enjoyable look.

Shirt: Thrifted from Goodwill. Dress: Urban Outfitters. Culottes: Oak + Fort. Jacket: Levis. Platforms: Thrifted from Buffalo Exchange. Scarf: Thrifted from an antique shop.

I hope you learned a bit about camp and also had some fun along the way! I honestly can’t wait to see what crazy outfits everyone puts together at the Met Gala this year. Stay tuned for my article!

What should my next shoot be? Leave a comment if you have any ideas!