Praises be unto the gawds, actual drag queens were bloody invited to the Met Gala this year. I mean, with a theme like ‘Camp: Notes On Fashion‘ it would have been a straight-up crime to not invite some of the people who turn out the meaning of the word every single day.
Spotted on the pink carpet of the 2019 gala were RuPaul’s Drag Race alumni, Aquaria and Violet Chachki, who each gave their own spin on the category, delivering looks that would probably (hopefully) make Michelle Visage weep into her neckline.
Aquaria won our hearts as the champion of season 10 last year, and she dominated the Met Gala carpet in an avant-garde piece from the Parisian fashion house, Maison Margiela, created by John Galliano.
Teamed with razor-sharp gloves from Garo Sparo and a cured wig by hair artist Joey George that could take your eye out, it’s no wonder that Aquaria should take her rightful place at Anna Wintour‘s table at the gala.
Your winner of season seven, Violet Chachki, in all her demure, luxurious glory, took it to the carpet/runway alongside Bella Hadid for Moschino, and her exploration of the theme resulted in a gown that was class up top and camp out back.
Like literally, it’s classic Chachki luxe-burlesque until she turns around and the train of her Jeremy Scott-designed gown is a GIANT GLOVE.
I love it SO, soooo much. She’s like a dark timeline Jessica Rabbit.
Violet also spoke with Vogue about what camp means to her as a young drag queen, and what it signified to the drag acene in her hometown of Atlanta.
Where I come from, camp was kind of looked down upon because the drag queens that I grew up with took themselves so seriously The camp queens are the kind of queens that might call out bingo numbers, or they might be standup comedians, but that’s kind of where I got the terminology, where I first heard the word ‘camp’ as it pertains to aesthetics and performance.
Mother Ru also backed it up into the Met Gala this year, but instead of turning it out into a full camp eleganza extravaganza, RuPaul appeared out of drag. Stripping it back to a simple – in terms of Ru – bell-bottomed, black and hot pink, zebra-patterned, jewel-encrusted suit with a zebra head on his shoulder throwing out an elaborate feathered mane.
And, most importantly, writer/producer/general perfect human Lena Waithe reminded everyone exactly who brought camp to the masses.
As always… @LenaWaithe with a lesson. #MetGala pic.twitter.com/geYkD1lElo
— Johanna Fuentes (@jfuentes) May 7, 2019
What have we learned from the 2019 Met Gala? MORE DRAG QUEENS ON THE INVITE LIST, PLEASE.
Image: Getty Images / Dimitrios Kambouris / Mike Coppola
