The fashion industry is healing: Last week New York Fashion Week made its return, and come Monday, we’ll have a Met gala (you can even watch the red carpet live!). But, of course, things aren’t exactly the way they were—this year, the evening’s dress code requires face masks. All attendees must provide proof of full vaccination, provide a negative rapid PCR test the day before, and wear proper face coverings when indoors except when eating or drinking.
It’s a novel prerequisite for the grand opening of the Costume Institute’s “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion,” but it’s not one that will feel out of place. The steps at the Met have long incited a more-is-more dressing philosophy, and what is a face mask, really, but an extra accessory? Yes, at its core, it’s a safety measure, but that doesn’t mean it can’t also be a bedazzled, embroidered, spangly little something shimmering in the same hue as your Met gala gown.
Plus, we have seen iterations of face coverings on the red carpet in the past (however COVID-inappropriate). See Ezra Miller’s operatic mask worn in 2019; the same year that Lily Aldridge festooned her face with a piece of pink tulle and Jared Leto accessorized with a second head—not a covering, per se, but it was certainly memorable. In 2016, Zoe Kravitz donned a black lace masquerade-style mask, and in 2018, Cara Delevingne rocked a crown-like headpiece with beaded tassels that cascaded down to her chin. All this to say, there is a precedent for the Met gala face masks, and Monday’s mandate will hopefully be embraced with a similar enthusiasm.
To help inspire some of the attendees come Monday, below, we’ve rounded up some blinged-out, bejeweled, and bedazzled Met gala-worthy masks.
