Blog #5: Yellow Queen & Why it Changed the Met Gala
By: Kemi Akanle
Picture it, it’s 2015 the Met Gala just announced their theme for the year and it was Museum of Art's China: Through the Looking Glass. You actually study up on fashion designers in China there are a handful you can choose from, but you fall in love with this one particular dress, and you blow it out of the park BECAUSE YOU THINK EVERYONE ELSE IS GOING TO BLOW IT OUT OF THE WATER TOO (bare with me this is important for later). So when you actually show up to the event WHICH YOU HAD A FULL 1 YEAR TO LOOK UP ON. Everyone else is wearing red, and barely anyone else any didn’t even choose an chinese designer not even asian. And if you think I’m kidding about the red dresses here are some examples.
It took me thirty seconds to find seven women with red dresses that night. Now why is this even important? Because one of the reasons for this whole event was that Museum of Art's China: Through the Looking Glass was to bring awareness to stereotypes portrayed by Western media of Asia for hundreds of years, preferably of China. And most of the people don’t even choose a Chinese designer and wear red which by all accounts does symbolize luck but it also symbolizes fertility.
This was why Rihanna's outfit choice was so revolutionary, she didn’t choose a Chinese-American designer, or a coutre house, she chose one from China and she was probably the only one at the event to do it. The dress's name is the Yellow Queen and the designer's name is Guo Pei. She even had 20 of her dresses displayed in the museum and Rihanna was the only one to call her.
This was a fun read, Kemi. Somewhat educational for those unfamiliar with iconic events like the MET Gala and fashion moments like Rihanna's.
ReplyDeleteI am so OVER Hollywood and celebrities lately, especially in light of the pandemic. And don't get me wrong--I've been reading tabloids and sipping tea for decades. I love celebrity gossip and the excitement that award shows and events like the above bring to us 'regular' people.
Reading a review like yours above just goes to show that many of these celebs are there for the photo op and the clout. No real creativity or thought. But then comes someone like Rihanna--like a breath of fresh air. Clearly, she did it right and sort of shamed the others in the process :)
If you had a year to prepare an outfit to match the theme of an event and still chose to not follow the directions, you are being nothing but disrespectful. To every celebrity that did not do any type of research in their outfits, they should've stayed home. Though, it is nice to see that there were some celebrities like Rihanna who followed the theme and contacted an actual Chinese designer for her dress.
ReplyDelete-Natalie Munoz
This was really interesting to read and learn about since I had no idea. Personally I am not surprised by the disrespectful celebrities because some celebrities tend to do things without learning about it. For example some celebrities have done disrespectful things like cultural appropriation because they weren’t knowledgeable about what they were doing before they did it. Although there are celebrities like Rihanna who make up for the rest!
ReplyDelete-Aiyah
I am not very educated in fashion or in celebrities, but I don't think that a majority of them did anything wrong. For them this is just another event and they most likely had the taylor the have on hand make a dress. However, I think that Rihanna going above and beyond is professional and what most people should have done, if I was going to that many events I most likely would not be the one in charge of planning what I am doing that night. I think many of the women their knew that red is a traditional chinese color and did not want to steal the spotlight and were just there for the award ceremony. Going above and beyond should not be the standard but it should be recognized and praised when it does happen, but not everyone should have to.
ReplyDelete-Sean Lynch
Rihanna's impact is so powerful, people are still talking about her Swarovski crystals. Loved this post.
ReplyDelete-Brianna Torres
I personally completely agree with you and I'm so tired of seeing celebrities attend the Met Gala wearing the same boring dresses. Every year, Rihanna attends the Met Gala and blows everyone away with her amazing and unique dresses. As soon as she steps foot on the red carpet she immediately exceeds all expectations and does something unexpected that no one else would think to do. Rihanna is one of the biggest fashion icons to this day and deserves to be acknowledged for her unconventional outfits, especially on the Met Gala red carpet.
ReplyDelete- Olivia Reina
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ReplyDeleteThis was an interesting read and I loved it. Rihanna has been setting fashion trends for years and when she wore this dress, she definitely turn heads. This is one of my favorite Met Gala looks and it's interesting how Rihanna was the only one to choose an actual Chinese designers. This look was not only beautiful, it was iconic.
ReplyDelete-Jessica Mongare