Lupita in Versace

Now that my rant is out of the way: Lupita looks super. The way that denim fans out and still fits her like a dream is stellar craftsmanship, and she said her hair was inspired by American artist Lorna Simpson. It's all so good.

She also apparently had a convertible piece that she removed inside. I have NO IDEA where she put it? But I like the dress as much with it on as I do with it off.

For a fuller look at the back. I wish we'd gotten a good stairs moment with her.

Ben Platt in Christian Cowan

This is a very obvious throwback, and I get it, but I also don't particularly like it? I feel like a slightly more modern spin would have made it less shlubby.

Costume Institute Benefit celebrating the opening of In America: A Lexicon of Fashion, Arrivals, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA - 13 Sep 2021

Also, every time he posed like this to show off his rings and his nails, I kept thinking he was cupping his chest.

Leon Bridges in Bode

Well, it certainly has elements of Americana to it. I actually think this is quite fun for this event, and that it's something Chadwick Boseman would have appreciated.

David Byrne

You may ask yourself: I thought he always wore big suits?!? But no! This is a classic approach to the material, and it's clean and crisp.

CL in Alexander Wang

She is a Korean music star, and even with ALL THAT denim, I nearly put her in the "naked" slideshow because underneath it we really just have medium-cut granny panties. I found this all sort of lumpy and lazy, and THEN I found out that it's Alexander Wang. I have not been a fan of his work, so that tracks, but there's also a raft of sexual assault allegations and a sort of weird non-apology and maybe-settlement happening there. I find it verrry interesting that D&G essentially had to sneak in via funding Harris Reed's gown for Iman (more on that later) but Alexander Wang got back in pretty easily. Anna makes these decisions herself. He may not have been there (I don't think he was), but he was represented there, and that wasn't an accident. Feels like a soft relaunch, a bit.

Amanda Gorman in Vera Wang

I have ALSO not been a huge fan of Vera Wang's later work, but it feels right that she's dressing one of the night's cohosts. This looks like a starry night AND an ode to that particular corner of the flag, and Amanda said it's a conceptual reimagining of the Statue of Liberty: ""We thought super carefully about my outfit. So for example, the crown and laurel is where the word poet laureate comes from, which I've been honored to be given that title. Just trying to think of ways that my own identity can kind of intersect."

The book-shaped clutch, also a nod to Lady Liberty, says "GIVE US YOUR TIRED" on the front.

I am sure SOMEONE has a photo of her on the stairs that they are uploading as I type this, but we didn't have one even hours after she arrived and it burns my soul because THE STAIRS ARE THE BEST. Still. She looks wonderful.

Tracee Ellis Ross in Balenciaga

Tracee said this is an homage to her mother Diana Ross, and her role in "Mahogany," in which she plays a fashion designer. I've never seen that movie, so please, somebody with knowledge, let me know if you're feeling it. Interestingly, as with other Balenciagas on this big night, it does not seem to have been custom-made -- but neither is it vintage. It's just from the most recent couture show Which is fine, but the Met is also one night of the year where it's cool when people either go SUPER archival or SUPER original.

Michaela Coel in Balenciaga

She is ALSO in Balenciaga. This has a real glitzy Grace Jones feel to it.

Mindy Kaling in Tory Burch

I think Mindy looks gorgeous, but entirely because of her head. The dress underneath is... fine... but the giant cummerbund is a bummer. A bummerbund.

Alicia Quarles in Pamella Roland

This is beautiful, and I wish I had a photo where she didn't look mildly afraid of it. I'm sure they're out there, but again... working with what I had, when I had it.

Camila Cabello in Michael Kors

Supposedly Kors's experience with Studio 54 inspired this, though the top really looks more like an ode to America's love of athleisure. Separately, I sincerely think Camila Cabello needs someone to give her a crash course in red-carpet posing. I don't think she knows her angles; up the nose is not it.

Whoopi in Valentino

I love how much Whoopi cherishes a BIG WACKY FASHION MOMENT. She looks like a Fairy Godmother of our times: Fancy, ruffly, not going to put up with any of your shit, and wearing gloves to make sure everything is sanitary.

Zoey Deutch in Versace

This MAYBE should have gone in the sheers slideshow? It's to Versace's credit that I didn't clock that it might be sheer until I really peered in at it. It LOOKS mostly lined? I don't know what any of it is supposed to evoke, and I am not sure it fits her chest, but it's certainly sexy.

Madison Beer in One/Of by Patricia Voto

Madison didn't get a lot of attention for this, but Patricia's line is relatively new, based in New York, and made of reclaimed materials from "heritage brands." An American designer gets a big platform: perfect for this thematic evening. The dress is pretty and absolutely evokes an Old Hollywood glam. Please also be proud of me for avoiding a disastrous "hold my beer" joke.

SHE might be making one, though.

Gemma Chan in Prabal Gurung

In the absence of Blake Lively, it fell to Gemma Chan to match the color of the carpet. I wish it were a NICER color.

However, she can work those stairs. (And her Instagram, about how this look paid homage to Anna May Wong, is really interesting.)

Diane Kruger in Prabal Gurung

This is a wacky thing to say about a dress that is both very long and VERY BRIGHT: This feels a little half-assed to me. I love the shoes with it, and the eye makeup in theory. But it's all falling a bit flat.

Bee Shaffer in Valentino

Bee is very pregnant, so she gets a pass on any creative design, though this evokes nothing so much as a period piece set in England. Which... not the theme. Let's do a Jane Austen themed one, though.

Janet Mock in Valentino

This is great and floofy and big and also, like Whoopi's before it, unquestionably Valentino. So not as much with the homages to American design in the lexicon? There are always articles that come out that totally prove all my guesses wrong, though, and I am excited to read them all. It's so interesting. I sincerely think everyone should arrive and hand out leaflets.

Nia Dennis in Stella McCartney

Technically, this is Stella x adidas, and if you think it looks like she just threw on a sheer beaded sheath over a catsuit, you are likely correct -- because Nia, a UCLA gymnast whose rad routines went viral, performed a choreographed floor routine with the Brooklyn United Marching Band.

Nia Dennis

Now THAT is how you do a stairs moment.

Lupita Nyong'o (But Surprisingly Few Others) Celebrated Denim at the Met

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