Well, ladies and gentlemen, we’ve survived. We witnessed the 2022 Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and lived to tell the tale. The industry’s biggest names descended onto the Met steps in their Monday’s best to raise money for the Costume Institute, as well as try their hardest to fit the theme.

This year’s theme was based on the Gilded Age, a time period between 1870 and 1890 when American innovation boomed and the upper tier of New York society thrived. We forecasted a couple of looks that could’ve possibly made it to the red carpet, with a few of them being correct, but per usual there were some big wins and a couple of heavy losses.

Although Vogue doesn’t really grade the attendees on how spot on their looks were, that doesn’t mean that we can’t. We’ve rounded up our favorite looks from the night, as well as some we could’ve done without.

Grab your best judging look, preferably something gilded and regal, and get ready for The Lexington Line’s Met Gala 2022 red carpet review.

Who Nailed It

Blake Lively

Blake Lively is no stranger to red carpets, but this one was extra special for the actor. At this year’s Met Gala, Lively was tapped to be one of the night’s co-chairs meaning that not only was she in charge of certain aspects of the event, but she also had to show out. And show out she did.

Lively wore a custom look by Versace, on Donatella’s birthday nonetheless. The look initially started as a floor-length gown with geometric appliques, opera gloves, and a bow that cascaded down the side of the look into a long train, all in a copper tone. But that wasn’t it at all.

Midway up the Met steps, Lively’s team undid the copper bow revealing a hidden train of a different color—teal with metallic copper brushing. She even had a moment to change her gloves to match. Spectacular!

When speaking to correspondents on the steps, Lively later revealed that the dress was actually inspired by the Statue of Liberty. The statue was originally made in a copper tone when it was gifted to America by France, but by 1906 the statue had turned a greenish-teal tone due to a process called verdigris.

The geometric shapes on the gown were meant to represent the windows on the Empire State Building, and the look was topped with a tiara by Lorraine Schwart z, with 7 spikes (just like on Lady Liberty) and 25 stones. She gets an A+ from us!

Source: *Hello! Magazine*
Blake Lively in both iterations of her custom Versace Gown

Billie Eilish

Eilish fully understood the gilded glamour assignment. You can tell the singer not only did her homework—she learned the lesson as well.

Eilish wore a custom Gucci gown by Alessandro Michele, that looks like it was plucked straight out of a real 1885 ball.

An off-white corset at the center, a staple of the period, seamlessly transitioned into a floor-length satin skirt with accompanying bustle. Adorning the corset was a tonal duchess corsage in a lovely lilac color. Her sleeves? Lace from her shoulder down past her wrist in a lovely seafoam green shade which was framed nicely by satin straps that connected the whole look together, in the same satin material.

On her neck sat a dainty black velvet embroidered choker, with accompanying jewels, of course, because it wouldn’t be glamor without some heavy stones.

Not only was the look spot on for the night, but the entire outfit was made of up-cycled vintage materials. Fashionable and sustainable? A win-win.

Source: *Pop Sugar*
Billie Eilish in Gucci

Sarah Jessica Parker

Who else could nail a theme like SPJ aka Mrs. Carrie Bradshaw? Not only was her gown designed by up-and-coming American designer Christopher John Rogers, but it was also actually inspired by Elizabeth Keckley, the first black woman who was a dress maker for The White House.

SJP wore a corseted black and white gingham gown, with a bustle of course. The sleeves of the dress were connected to the corseted top portion, further solidifying the sleek neckline. Never one to pass up on an accessory, SJP wore a hat by none other than Philip Treacy, because who else would you go to for a hat? As always, a job well done by our favorite faux Vogue columnist.

Source: Red Carpet Fashion Awards
Sarah Jessica Parker wearing custom Christopher John Rogers and Philip Treacy

Evan Mock

Can we get some commotion for the boys? Typically, men play it safe on the steps resorting to classic black tie event suits. But Evan Mock is not your typical guy.

Mock wore a custom look by Head of State, another local New York brand. Not wanting to be left out of the fun, Mock’s look included a corset of his own, in a gorgeous eggshell color. The corset top had a dropped neckline, which revealed a ruffled button-down shirt, or rather a dickie—since we could see a little bit of skin showing in between the corset and the bottoms.

His jacket sleeves made the corset masculine and formal, with ruffled sleeves slightly peaking out. A singular jeweled pin stuck out of the corset, which we can assume matched the jewels that hid under Mock’s neck ruffles. Evan showed the boys, and even some of the gals, that it’s not hard to stick to the theme while also having fun.

Source: *Seventeen*
Evan Mock in custom Head of State

Laura Harrier

Our last Met Gala “winner” is a woman that was born to play a debutante in a period piece. Laura Harrier wore a custom H&M gown designed by Victor Glemaud. Although hearing H&M and Met Gala in the same sentence sounds a bit odd, the fast-fashion company normally dresses people for the event, with notable past guests including Sarah Jessica Parker.

Harrier wore, you guessed it, a corseted gown in a metallic charcoal tone. A floral motif covered the actor, and the bustle was most definitely bustle-ing.

Accessorized to a T, she also wore black velour opera gloves and layered pearl chokers, with some of the pearls in a charcoal color to play off the dress. With her hair effortlessly slicked back, Harrier pranced up the Met steps in her best period fashion.

Source: *Us Weekly*
Laura Harrier wearing H&M

Who Missed The Mark

While references could be taken from anywhere, one thing that we cannot excuse is a lack of effort or appreciation for the night. The Met Gala has always been a black-tie event, or white tie as this year’s invitation read, which means that are certain dress codes that must be followed.

Riz Ahmed

The actor and musician wore a look by 4Designs which included a top shirt and loose fitted pants, held up by a shoestring. Under the shirt was a simple white tank top—lackluster to say the least. Calf-high black leather boots were his footwear of choice.

Ahmed stated that his look was inspired by all the immigrant workers “that kept the Gilded Age going.” Although we love representation and amplification of minority voices, it doesn’t excuse the Ahmed’s lack of effort, especially when he set out to represent a community of people that often get ignored. Immigrant workers in the Gilded Age also did not wear Cartier jewels, which Ahmed did. This one is a hard no from us.

Sebastian Stan

Listen, do we love Valentino? Yes. Was it appropriate for the night? Absolutely not. Following in Ahmed’s lazy footsteps, the actor wore a look from, or possibly inspired by, Valentino’s FW22 collection.

The first mistake was the color: a vibrant hot fuchsia pink shade. Already a standing out like a sore thumb amongst a sea of neutral and darker tones. Fuchsia also doesn’t invoke a Gilded Age feel, it just felt out of place.

The second mistake was that a white-tie dress code was not followed. The actor wore a large jacket, over a bomber jacket (huh?) and a t-shirt. Loosely fitted bottoms continued to de-escalate the look, eventually arriving at a pair of sneakers. Sneakers? During the Gilded Age? That’s news to us. And every piece in that blinding fuchsia shade.

We understand that Stan was accompanied by Pierpaolo Piccioli, creative director of Valentino and that the house is working hard to solidify a connection between the brand and this specific color, but—no. There’s always next year!

Source: *People*
Sebastian Stan in Valentino

Kylie Jenner

The contributions that Virgil Abloh made to the fashion industry as a whole will continue to be studied for years. As a beloved designer and friend of many celebrities, tributes to the late designer are still happening, months after his untimely passing. Kylie Jenner decided to honor the designer and friend by wearing the closing look from Off-White’s FW22 collection, which was a runway version of a tribute.

All of that is truly heartwarming, but there is a time and place for everything. Kylie’s look leaned almost into bridal territory. A large white tulle skirt sat under a bustier that later turned into a thin, mesh-like short sleeve t-shirt. Accessorized with a snapback hat that doubled as a veil, Jenner looked like, well, a skater bride.

We later found out that Jenner was supposed to attend the 2020 Met Gala accompanied by Abloh, which unfortunately did not happen due to the pandemic lockdown. She was pregnant last year, so she decided to honor Abloh by wearing him to this year’s event.

Personal connections are always a good place to pull a reference from, but Kylie looked so out of place on this year’s red carpet that we’re not sure she was even at the same event. A good thought process muddled by poor execution.

Source: *Pop Sugar*
Kylie Jenner in Off-White

Fredrik Robertsson

Iris Van Herpen is usually a hit on the Met steps. Known for her futuristic designs and innovative production techniques, each idea is perfectly executed through hundreds of hours of work done by hand. The problem is that this year’s theme couldn’t have been farther from the idea of anything futuristic.

Robertsson made his Met Gala debut in a custom look by the house. The top was composed of long, thin spikes arranged in an organic shape. The bottoms included a dark grey set pair of pants adorned with the same spikes. The movement of the gown was phenomenal, a signature of any Iris Van Herpen look, but it looked like it belonged in 2870, not 1870. A big swing and an even bigger miss.

Source: *Esquire*
Fredrik Robertsson in Iris Van Herpen

Camila Cabello

Last, and certainly least, was singer Camila Cabello. Ignoring the theme seems to be a recurring issue amongst the list of attendees that didn’t quite nail their looks. But Camila’s interpretation, or lack thereof, was so blatant it was almost offensive.

The singer wore a custom look by local New York designer Prabal Gurung. A very modern criss-cross top sat on top of a ruffled floor-length skirt, with floral appliques hidden within the big waves of the skirt. Florals? For spring? Groundbreaking.

Not only was the look extremely off theme, but it also seemed to be drowning the singer. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to wear a pretty dress to the Met Gala, but we can think of at least 10 ways that the look could’ve attempted to play by the rules that had been predetermined. We’ll leave it up to Camila to figure out what they are.

Source: *Us Magazine*
Camila Cabello in Prabal Gurung

While the theme is picked with acute attention to detail in mind and celebrities should follow it, there will always be those who understood the assignment. And there will be those who never knew there was an assignment in the first place.

Who were your favorite looks from the 2022 Met Gala? And who do you wish you hadn’t seen at all? Let us know in the comments below.

Met Gala 2022: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly