Fashion and celebrity collide at the annual Met Gala, a fundraiser for the Costume Institute of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Met Gala always raises eyebrows, and this year’s theme, “Camp: Notes on Fashion,” has generated much discussion. Many fashionistas, cultural critics, and others ask, “…but is this camp?”
It is interesting, but not surprising that this overly serious and analytical commentary is being made on a camp sensibility that is meant to mock these things.
Lady Gaga takes on the theme of ‘camp’ with ‘Haus Of Gaga.
Susan Sontag wrote her most influential piece, notes on Camp, in 1964. This was the first attempt to define the camp’s parameters and qualities. It is clear why she wrote notes instead of a formal essay. Because camp is a sense or way of seeing the world, it isn’t easy to treat systematically. Sontag might even say that camp is often resistant to the idea of systematisation.
For Sontag, camp is “the love of the exaggerated, the ‘off,’ of things-being-what-they-are-not.” Though it is not merely visual, it has often been expressed in the visual styles of decor, architecture, cinema, and fashion.
Some aspects of Art Nouveau. Old Flash Gordon comics. Women’s clothing from the 1920s with feather boas or fringed garments. Celebrity dandies like Oscar Wilde and Paul Lynde. “Sissies”. “Overwrought” performances of classic Hollywood actresses like Bette Davis, Judy Garland, etc. A sense of affectation is key to camp, as well as a preference for style over substance. It’s also important to consider how you look at these things and appreciate affectation.
Missing the Point
The Met Gala’s gowns and costumes this year miss the whole point of what camp is. Jared Leto’s replica of his head is not camp. Are you looking for something quirky and odd? Maybe. But not near the center.
Jared Leto’s outfit: bad camping. Justin Lane/EPA/AAP
Celine Dion was another interesting example. She wore an Oscar de la Renta-designed tribute to Judy Garland’s Ziegfield Follies. The campy figures inspire the outfit, but the wearer is what makes it camp. Dion would still be considered a camp icon regardless of the outfit she wore. It is due to the fact that her celebrity image is more a result of her emotionally charged songs, the way she performs these songs, and her goofy personality.
Those who enjoy Celine Dion’s irony find her style and public persona to be highly entertaining. These fans would also probably love that Celine Dion initially believed that the theme of this year’s Gala was “camping” in nature. She is a saint.
Oscar de la Renta’s outfit for Celine Dion. Andres Otero/WENN.com/AAP
Billy Porter, for example, embodied the camp spirit much better by adding outrageous pomposity and performance in their appearances.
Porter arrived dressed as some Egyptian goddess and was carried into the room on a litter by six shirtless, nubile men. This added a certain amount of spectacle, but, just like any other guest, the appearance was planned and rehearsed.
Billy Porter’s appearance at the Met Gala in New York was a spectacular spectacle. Andres Otero/Wenn.com/AAP
Sontag and other thinkers after her have argued that there are really two ways to “do” camp. The “naive” command and the “conscious” center are two different kinds of bases. Garland didn’t intend to become a gay icon. But her earnest and overwrought performances led a majority of queer people, including Garland, to see her as such.
Gay men, especially, appreciated her affectations. This is similar to the way drag queens in the gay community are respected. The performers aren’t appreciated for their performance but rather for the amount of effort they put in.