Koreans Criticize Extravagant Met Gala Outfits Of Female Attendees

On May 6 (local time), several celebrities gathered at the Met Gala, an event that has become synonymous with high fashion.

Each year, the fundraiser event follows a specific theme, and the public eagerly waits to see which attendee donned the best outfit befitting the theme. This year, the theme was “Garden of Time,” inspired by J.G. Ballard’s short story of the same name.

The garden-like “red” carpet for this year’s Met Gala. | NBC News

Much like the rest of the world, Korean netizens also tuned in to watch the fashion moments the attendees brought to the red carpet, but it seems that a majority of them are not happy with the way things unfolded. After the Gala, a post compiling some of the dresses from the day went viral on the community site TheQoo, where the OP (original poster) pointed out that the event felt like a “modern-day foot binding festival” of the female attendees.

Explaining the stance, the OP posted several instances from the event where the female attendees were seen needing the help of multiple people to simply move on the carpet or climb the stairs because of how impractical their clothes were. For example, singer Tyla had to be physically carried and lifted the stairs due to her sand-inspired dress being too heavy.

Tyla is lifted up the stairs at the #MetGala. pic.twitter.com/XYpkS41WMG

— Variety (@Variety) May 6, 2024

Model Gigi Hadid also needed four men to carry the huge train of her dress and move up the stairs.

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Other attendees, such as Elle Fanning, Kim Kardashian, and Cardi B, were also seen requiring help to even take a small step in their dresses.

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Finally, the OP observed that the female attendees either wear clothes that are too tight to move so that their body shape can be visible or are rendered immobile due to impractically heavy and flashy hemlines. They also added that seeing these female celebrities, it is understandable why male attendees get criticized for turning up in simple suits at this event.

Netizens are divided in their opinion about this analysis. While some felt that these extravagant dresses didn’t carry any value in terms of beauty or fashion, others felt that wearing such high-fashion items to the Met Gala was actually the appropriate way to go about it.

| theqoo

• “Really, what the hell is this? Lol.”
• “These don’t look pretty at all.”
• “It’s seriously ridiculous. Why are you wearing a dress that you can’t even walk or breathe in properly? Why do they hold this event where people just strip down and behave like mannequins?”
• “I’m asking because I’m not aware. But the Met Gala or whatever it is, is it mandatory to make all that fuss over it?”
• “It’s bizarre.”
• “I thought it could be like that because it’s all a performance. But only the women being like that feels weird.”
• “The clothes overpower the people, and it doesn’t look cool.”

| theqoo

• “If you think of it as something similar to a bridal wedding dress, it is understandable why they need people to support and help (with the dress). But it’s ridiculous that only the women go through this ordeal while men just show up in a simple suit.”
• “But aren’t clothes supposed to be the main focus at Met Gala?”
• [In response to a previous comment] “I agree. It’s just women doing all that. That’s why modern foot-binding is the right comparison.”
• “Bizarre.”
• “So I wasn’t the only one thinking this.”