Haircare Group Creative Director Peter Beckett recaps fashion’s big night.
NYC knows how to throw a finale of fashion With Fashion Week finished and a new, later MET Gala date, we were not disappointed on fashion’s biggest night out.
“In America: A Lexicon of Fashion” kicked off a two-year theme (the MET Gala 2022 theme will be “In America: An Anthology of Fashion”), posing a loaded question – what does American fashion mean to you?
The theme meant almost no boundaries – however you interpreted the question was fair game. That allowed attendees to touch on events and movements that happened throughout 2020 and 2021 in their designs, with some taking a more political stance than others (we see you, AOC).
After the event was cancelled in 2020 and postponed to September in 2021, themes of hope, rebirth and progress were consistent across a lot of designs, with the rising phoenix a symbol of things to come.
patriot games
Given the theme, it made sense that strong, vibrant colours of red would make an appearance, and Karlie Kloss, Megan Fox, Emily Ratajkowski all wore patriotic red.
Old Hollywod
My personal favourite theme of the night were all the references to Old Hollywood glamour. Kaia Gerber wore an Oscar de la Renta gown inspired by Bianca Jagger’s 1981 Dior MET Gala look, Billie Eilish channelled the ultimate American blonde bombshell in Marilyn Monroe with her voluminous, peach-coloured, corseted gown and Yara Shahidi was inspired by Josephine Baker with her beaded Dior gown.
“I just feel like the hot girl culture needs to give Hollywood glamour,” Said Megan Thee Stallion who wore Coach, and her strapless corseted gown with asymmetric ruffling was perfectly complimented with soft finger waves and a deep side part.
Bringing the Bling
Imaan Hammam blurred the line of patriotism and sparkles, with a vintage Atelier Versace dress that featured a star theme like the stars on the American flag. Other celebrities such as Rita Ora, Zoe Kravitz, Grimes and Emily Blunt all shone like diamonds, in variations of glitz.
Kendall Jenner wore custom Givenchy, with a design inspired by Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady. Combining bling, old Hollywood and the naked dress trend, her illusion dress was fully embroidered with crystal beads, flowers and fringe.
The Hair
There was such diversity with the hair looks throughout the evening. However, the one consistent thing I felt was that everything tended to be more on the manicured side.
Old Hollywood glam was such a statement look – a good, old-fashioned set, but dressed out in a slightly more modern way.
Pete’s top 4 MET Gala 2021 looks
My top 4 looks of the evening were Megan Fox, Billie Eilish, Karlie Kloss and Kim Kardashian.
Billie Eilish: After giving Oscar de la Renta designers Laura Kim and Fernando Garcia a reference point for her look, the MET Gala 2021 co-chair channelled Holiday Barbie as her inspiration for the head-to-toe look. Paired with Marilyn Monroe vibes, her wispy platinum bob cut replaces her beloved neon green hair.
My top tip for maintaining this level of blonde is a great purple shampoo – Evo Fabuloso Platinum Blonde Toning Shampoo and Evo Fabuloso Platinum Blonde Colour Boosting Treatment are key. (To strip Billie of her neon green hair but still keep the hair healthy, don’t forget the Evo Bottle Blonde Colour Remover, too!).
Karlie Kloss: In a Carolina Herrera dress custom made by Wes Gordon, the supermodel wore a stunning red dress made entirely from 25 yards of silk. With blossoming silk faille roses on both shoulders, simple hair was key to making this look effortless from head to toe.
Keeping a centre part but tying back into a braided bun, to keep this look elegant and fresh, whilst minimalistic, use MOROCCANOIL Volumizing Mist dried into the hair followed by MOROCCANOIL Smoothing Lotion.
Megan Fox: With her blunt baby bangs and pulled back bondage braid, her dress channelled vintage pinup vibes, and so did her hair.
The bound plait look was sleek and shiny, and to get this look, I would use Color Wow Pop & Lock or Extra Mist-ical Shine Spray, or the MOROCCANOIL Glimmer Shine Spray to amp up the shine and hold the hair in place.
Kim Kardashian: Arguably the most talked-about look at the MET Gala, Kim K showed up in head-to-toe in black by Balenciaga, complete with train and full-face covering (sorry, MUAs!). However, the one thing that was on display was a sleek 75-inch ponytail, thanks to Color Wow Global Creative Director, Chris Appleton.
With sharp, blunt ends and a smooth, high shine look, Color Wow Dream Coat is your key to this look – minimising any frizz and keeping that hair sleek, with glass-like shine.
What were your favourite looks at this years’ MET Gala? Did you think anyone missed the mark? Let me know by tagging me in your favourite looks @peterbeckett_.
Source credit for photos: gettyimages.com.au
