I’m no fashion blogger (clearly), but the looks at the 2018 Met Gala certainly gave me a lot of feels that I need to do something with. SO. Here we go. First up:
The Theme
“Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination”
In addition to an English degree, I graduated from college with a minor in Fine Arts (I know right, how marketable am I??). To complete that minor, I had to take a few art history classes.
It’s one thing to just go to an art museum and look at what you see. It’s another thing entirely to really know what you’re seeing. Given the impact art has on a culture (and vice versa), I’d argue everyone should take a few art history classes, but that’s another topic for another time.
The 2018 theme was chosen to create a dialogue between fashion and the masterworks of religious art at the Met:
By placing fashion within “the broader context of religious artistic production” (like paintings and architecture), Costume Institute curator in charge Andrew Bolton, working alongside colleagues from the Met’s medieval department and the Cloisters, aims to show how “material Christianity” has helped form “the Catholic imagination.” The intersection of faith and fashion, the sacred and profane, as it were, has not always been easy…but the interplay between the two has inspired some awe-inspiring sartorial innovation.
Fashion is art. It’s art we wear. And this explanation of the Gala’s theme by Laird Borrelli-Persson over at Vogue puts into words exactly what I was excited to see interpreted in what the celebs wore.
So, without further ado and in no particular order (except the first two), here are my 15 favorite 2018 Met Gala looks:
Rihanna
Way back when I used Tumblr on the reg, I had a tag I added to every Rihanna-related post I reblogged that was “how is rihanna even real” and it’s a question I have yet to answer to this day.
Rihanna is consistently on point with the Met Gala’s theme, and since she was co-chairing this year there is no way she was not gonna impress. And impress SHE DID.
As far as I’m concerned, she’s the new pope. She is the beginning and the end, the alpha and the omega, the king of kings and queen of queens, and we’re all just lucky enough to be alive at the same time.
Blake Lively
Serena van der Who?? Blake is the most radiant of goddesses in this look, and I’m not hard-pressed to say she pulls it off better than her former fashionista character ever could. If Rihanna hadn’t ensured she’d be my number one fav look long before last night just by being Rihanna, Blake would have that spot no questions asked.
The rich, red full skirt, the golden embroidery that matches her hair perfectly, and the jewelry! Oh my dad the jewelry!!
In all seriousness, if I die of something heart-related in the next 24-48 hours, it’s because it just couldn’t take it after seeing this look.
Cardi B
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. Y’all. Cardi B straight STUNTIN. This was HER FIRST GALA and she did better than most of the regular attendees! Renaissance fertility goddess, we are. not. worthy.
Lana del Rey
I cannot, in good faith, get fully on board with anything the ever problematic Jared Leto does, but Lana del Rey is my QUEEN and I’ll be damned if her look isn’t complete without him. Gucci Gang, Holy Trinity, whatever you wanna call them, Lana, Jared, and Alessandro Michele are a Renaissance painting come to life in these outfits and I am here for it.
Nicki Minaj
Nicki said she dressed as the devil, which makes sense because this Oscar de la Renta dress is FIRE. Her look is seriously stunning. If she is the villain of this story, I’m joining the dark side.
Chadwick Boseman
THIS. THIS is how you go to the Heavenly Bodies themed Met Gala. The men of pop culture were overwhelmingly underwhelming with the theme this year but not Chadwick effing Boseman. I’m calling this suit the Lazarus suit because it may have killed me when I first saw it but then it more than brought me back to life.
SZA
Be still my heart, the softest of queens! More heavenly creature than heavenly body, this look is as ethereal as SZA. I wasn’t sure that was a vibe that could be manifested as an actual object, but this outfit does it. Her crown is also so reminiscent of Hedy Lamarr’s famous crown of stars, and I’m obsessed with it.
Ariana Grande
Vera Wang really put part of the Sistine Chapel on a dress and Ariana rocked the crap out of it. I’m in awe, I’m amazed. I’m feeling a little judged by a dress but I’m more than okay with it.
Emilia Clarke
Rococo Khaleesi! Regal AF!! Emilia is nothing short of stunning in this black and gold gown inspired by a statue of the Virgin Mary in Sicily. The embroidery is gorgeous, the cameos are gorgeous, and her hair? OMG, Gorgeous.
Migos
Hip-hop trio? More like holy trio! Holy eff these extravagant Versace suits were on point. They actually reminded me quite a bit of Tybalt’s iconic outfit (especially Quavo) in the 1996 Baz Luhrmann version of “Romeo + Juliet” (although now that I go back and look that up, it’s a lot more muted than I remember). Either way, theirs is such a put-together, all-over LOOK and your #MCM could never.
Janelle Monae
Ugh, the queen of cool. This modern(ish) take on the Gala’s theme is so perfect and so quintessentially Janelle. She is serving up some seriously flawless face here and it’s nothing short of radiant.
Zendaya
Literally the only thing missing from this look is a sword. Seriously, can someone get this woman a sword??
Joan of Arc has been such a hero of mine since I saw the Leelee Sobieski mini-series about her when I was nine (and probably shouldn’t have) and has been a small obsession of mine since I once drunkenly “figured out” I was her in a past life (which probably isn’t true).
Anyway, all this to say, Zendaya has renewed and invigorated that obsession and, honestly, I almost want her in this outfit taking out Tom Holland at the beginning of the next Spider-Man movie before turning it into her own ass-kicking franchise.
Donatella Versace
Living legend status: confirmed. My jaw: dropped. This dress is one of the most gorgeous things I’ve seen in my life, and if I had to pick a dress of the night to wear for literally anything, it would be this one. Donatella looked absolutely flawless and, seriously, oh my god where can I get those boots??
Amber Heard
My queen of queens, my beautiful baby angel, the love of my life with the worst taste in men has never looked so G. D. radiant. Red is HER COLOR and she never lets us forget it. This is a relatively simple look for this theme but oh my gosh is it such a classic one.
Jasmine Sanders
I had to look up who she was but Jasmine Sanders KILLED. IT. I mean, Oh Honey. That liquid gold, those gorgeous roses! Apparently she’s known as the “Golden Barbie” and 1000% believe it. This look is legit show-stopping.
kat wiseman 
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