This Is What Camp Is . . . According to Met Gala Attendees (2025)

Susan Sontag defined camp in—count ’em!—58 ways in her landmark essay. In a nutshell, camp is an elusive and playful and knowing sensibility, one that doesn’t take itself too seriously. As Costume Institute curator Andrew Bolton noted in his press preview remarks on Monday, it’s likely to make you smile.

Being a free-form concept partial to exaggeration, camp can be interpreted in an infinite number of ways. Cher singing Abba’s “Waterloo”: check. A flurry of feathers: check. And so on. In fact, there were as many takes on the idea on the party of the year’s pink carpet as there were guests. (More if you count outfit changes.) Even the theme rejectors were making a comment about the motif. So, how did the attendees define camp? We counted some of the ways.

Here are 20 notes on camp, collected from the pink carpet.

Camp is believing the world is your oyster.

The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli; Abbey Lee Kershaw in Thom Browne.

Camp is not saying what you mean.

Hailee Steinfeld in Viktor & Rolf Couture.

Jamie McCarthy

Fairy tales are camp.

Zendaya Coleman and Law Roach, both in Tommy Hilfiger.

Taylor Hill

Camp is surreal.

Violet Chachki (left) and Tracee Ellis Ross, both in Moschino.

Art Deco is camp.

Miss du Barry, by Erté, 1929; Celine Dion in Oscar de la Renta.

Camp is operatic.

Jordan Roth in Iris van Herpen.

Dia Dipasupil

Camp is a many-feathered thing.

Dame Joan Collins and Naomi Campbell, both in Valentino.

Kevin Mazur/MG19

Barbie is camp.

Kacey Musgraves in Moschino.

Dimitrios Kambouris

Camp is self-referential.

Jared Leto in Gucci.

Ray Tamarra

Camp is being lit.

Katy Perry in Moschino.

Gotham

Camp is heady.

Elizabeth Taylor, 1967; Gemma Chan in Tom Ford.

Camp is rainbows.

Cara Delevingne in Christian Dior.

Taylor Hill

Camp is running away with the circus.

Darren Criss in Balmain; Yara Shahidi in Prada.

Camp is cotton candy–colored hair.

Laverne Cox in Christian Siriano.

Gotham

Mary Poppins is camp.

Julie Andrews as Mary Poppins (with Dick Van Dyke); Lady Gaga in Brandon Maxwell.

Camp is capes.

Hamish Bowles in Maison Margiela.

Jamie McCarthy

Camp is a single pearl earring, à la Vermeer.

Girl With a Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer; Harry Styles in Gucci.

Camp is trains.

Cardi B in Thom Browne.

Dia Dipasupil

Camp is the bare bones.

Caroline Trentini in Thom Browne.

Kevin Mazur/MG19

Camp is, evidently, pantless.

Lady Gaga in Brandon Maxwell; Charlotte Gainsbourg in Saint Laurent.

This Is What Camp Is . . . According to Met Gala Attendees (2025)

FAQs

What does camp mean in Met Gala? ›

Edit: nvm i googled it, Camp is an aesthetic style and sensibility that regards something as appealing because of its bad taste and ironic value. Upvote 2 Downvote Reply Share. fuzzybella. • 1y ago. Camp is a big part of drag culture -- a full embrace of over-the-top looks.

What does camp mean in relation to fashion? ›

Camp is an aesthetic style and sensibility that regards something as appealing or amusing because of its heightened level of artifice, affectation and exaggeration, especially when there is also a playful or ironic element. Camp is historically associated with LGBTQ+ culture and especially gay men.

How much does it cost to go to the Met Gala? ›

Wealthy celebrities and brands snap up all the available tickets and tables at the charity benefit. An individual ticket goes for around $75,000 (£60,000), more than the average down payment on a house. A 10-seat table starts at $350,000. In 1995, Ms Wintour's first year overseeing the event, a ticket cost just $1,000.

What does the 2024 Met Gala theme mean? ›

Allow us to explain: The 2024 Met Gala theme celebrates the institute's new exhibition, “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion.” According to Vogue, “The exhibit will feature approximately 250 rare items drawn from the Costume Institute's permanent collection.

What is camp in popular culture? ›

On social media, the term "camp" can refer to a particular aesthetic or style characterized by being deliberately exaggerated, theatrical, ironic, and often kitschy/over-the-top.

What does it mean to look campy? ›

: in the style of camp : absurdly exaggerated, artificial, or affected in a usually humorous way.

What is camp in Gen Z slang? ›

Today, camp is used as slang to describe something over-the-top – eccentric, ridiculous, unexpected, striking, out-of-the-ordinary.

Why are people called camp? ›

The first English definition of the term, which appeared in a 1909 edition of the Oxford English Dictionary, conformed to popular, contemporary notions of camp: “ostentatious, exaggerated, affected, theatrical; effeminate or homosexual; pertaining to, characteristic of, homosexuals…” If not synonymous with ...

What does this is camp mean in slang? ›

If you describe someone's behaviour, performance, or style of dress as camp, you mean that it is exaggerated and amusing.

Do celebs pay for Met Gala? ›

Not just anyone can buy a ticket or a table to the event. Meanwhile, many celebrities don't pay full freight. Instead, a design house typically springs for a table and invites guests they wish to host, one attendee confirmed to CBS MoneyWatch. So for some particularly glittering guests, attendance is free.

What is Anna Wintour's salary? ›

With a net worth estimated at $50 million, Wintour commands both wealth and respect in equal measure. Her annual salary as editor-in-chief of Vogue, a staggering $4 million, cements her status as one of the highest-paid figures in the fashion realm. Wintour's journey to prominence is as storied as it is inspiring.

What is the most expensive Met Gala dress? ›

In 2022, Kim wore Marilyn Monroe's iconic crystal-embellished gown to the Met Gala. It was sold to Ripley's Believe It Or Not in 2016 for $5 million. Emma Chamberlain wore a custom Louis Vuitton dress at the 2022 Met Gala and she paired it with the Patiala Necklace which is valued at over $30 million.

Who was the most visible attendee of Met Gala 2024? ›

Bollywood actor Alia Bhatt, who attended the Met Gala 2024, was the 'most visible' celebrity at the event. The actor wore a Sabyasachi saree, which became the 'most visible brand', as per an Instagram post by Lefty.

Who won the Met Gala 2024? ›

MONA PATEL I WASN'T FAMILIAR WITH YOUR GAME!" Her look for fashion's most illustrious event was guided by renowned stylist Law Roach, who also dressed the Met Gala co-host Zendaya for the big night.

Why is it so hard for Met Gala attendees to dress on theme? ›

Because even if you feel like you have a really specific reference to the theme, if you're the only one who dressed like that, most people are just going to be like, 'Why did you dress like that? '

What is the camping Met Gala theme? ›

The Met Gala, which is not the Mets Gala, is camp-themed this year, which is not camp, like, going camping, but camp like the aesthetic style “camp,” which is somewhat difficult to define but includes elements of irony, humor, parody, pastiche, artifice, theatricality, and exaggeration; it makes you at once laugh and ...

What does it mean if someone is camp? ›

gives this as the closest meaning, "Having deliberately artificial, vulgar, banal, or affectedly humorous qualities or style: played up the silliness of their roles for camp effect." - not quite meaning "effeminate". It also says of this definition, "origin unknown".

What does Met Gala dress code mean? ›

To put it simply, Met Gala guests must follow a dress code that resembles fleeting beauty. Of course, attendees can embrace the obvious by wearing florals - or even real life flowers - to represent an actual garden.

What does camp mean for gays? ›

The first English definition of the term, which appeared in a 1909 edition of the Oxford English Dictionary, conformed to popular, contemporary notions of camp: “ostentatious, exaggerated, affected, theatrical; effeminate or homosexual; pertaining to, characteristic of, homosexuals…” If not synonymous with ...

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