by B. R. GOWANI
annual Met Gala known as “fashion’s biggest night,” is big business
(Met stands for Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, New York)
it’s also called “the Oscars of Fashion,” “fashion Oscars,” etc.
Rihanna’s 2015 Met Gala dress was for many “pizza and omelettes“
and for many others it was “rolled condoms” — designed by Guo Pei
the gala is an expensive elitist event
2025’s Met Gala was dedicated to black fashion and was held on May 5
theme for the costumes was: Superfine: Tailoring Black Style
it was inspired by 2009 Monica L Miller’s book
Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity
a single ticket cost $75,000, whereas a table for 10 started at $350,000
the money thus collected goes to the costume institute
it would have been much better if the proceeds were utilized differently …
it could have been used to fight police atrocities* against blacks & others
Vogue editor, Anna Wintour, has the dictatorial power for the gala
(she popularized fur and is hated by Pamela Anderson because
she bullied “young designers and models to use and wear fur”)
costumes, many of them, were uncomfortable and/or ugly
Wintour decides who is invited — she has banned Trump from the Galas
one of the attendees this year was singer/actress Sabrina Carpenter
Sabrina Carpenter in an interview to fashion magazine Vogue said:
“This is Pharrell [Williams]. I’m such a massive fan of Pharrell’s and have been to the show and I was just like, ‘If I could go this year with him, that would be my dream.’ And it came true.”
“He was like, ‘You’re quite short [5ft], so no pants for you.’ So here we are. Here we are.”
the added benefit was a relief for the kidneys:
“Never been to the bathroom once because I’ve never been able to use it in my outfit. So tonight might be the night.” “We’ll see… And I’m just gonna let everybody know what it looks like. I’m sure it’s just a normal museum bathroom, but I’m excited to find out.”
with such cumbersome dresses, see below, one would hold pee infinitely
Pharrell’s reason for dressing Carpenter without pants
“You’re quite short, so no pants for you.“
that is not a very convincing reason
look at the following three pictures of Carpenter in pants
she looks perfectly fine and stylish in pants …
Carpenter looks much better above than the costume she wore at the Gala
same is the case with Pharrell’s wife Helen Lasichanh
Lasichanh, a designer/stylist/model, is a full foot taller than Carpenter
Carpenter is 5ft where as Lasichanh is 6 ft (Pharrell is 5ft 8 ½ inches)
Lasichanh is in a leather corset top and tights
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Helen Lasichanh at the 2025 Met Gala IMAGE/People
now compare her picture above with the picture below
Helen Lasichanh (6 ft or 183 cm) and their son Rocket IMAGE/US Weekly/Yahoo
she looks very pretty in mini skirt and a blazer. than the gala corset top
Amber, a social media person, put pants on Carpenter & commented
“I would never suggest this color or the “ringmaster” costume to begin with, but it’s a perfect example of how dressing against your body type can go horribly wrong.”
Carpenter’s reply showed sportsmanship:
many people on social media got mad …
Gabrela wrote:
“As a (very) short woman, like sabrina, I nearly got offended by his comment. It’s limiting and degrading for short women. And it’s dumb and lazy cause wearing pants has nothing to do with height and everything to do with tailoring, fitting and style”
*(After heartless and gruesome murder of black person George Floyd in 2020, Wintour apologized to her staff:
“I want to say plainly that I know Vogue has not found enough ways to elevate and give space to black editors, writers, photographers, designers and other creators. We have made mistakes too, publishing images or stories that have been hurtful or intolerant. I take full responsibility for those mistakes.”
“I want to say this especially to the black members of our team — I can only imagine what these days have been like. But I also know that the hurt, and violence, and injustice we’re seeing and talking about have been around for a long time. Recognizing it and doing something about it is overdue.”
“It can’t be easy to be a black employee at Vogue, and there are too few of you.” “I know that it is not enough to say we will do better, but we will – and please know that I value your voices and responses as we move forward. I am listening and would like to hear your feedback and your advice if you would like to share either.”
B. R. Gowani can be reached at brgowani@hotmail.com