The Met Gala Is for Fashion. I Went to the Other One. It’s Better.
The Met Gala takes over our feeds every year. Whether it’s Jared Leto carrying around his own head, or Rihanna’s gigantic Guo Pei dress, we cannot ignore the A-listers, the extravagant haute couture outfits, or—frankly—that odd, icky feeling we get from witnessing such an accumulation of wealth and power and face filler, all in one place. The Debt Gala, on the other hand, is much less heralded.
A party held on the eve of the Met Gala, the Debt Gala bills itself as the “budget-friendly, inclusive alternative.” This year, it featured a red carpet, stand-up comedy sets, personal pizza, and beer. The Met Gala is an annual fundraiser for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute. The Debt Gala exists to raise money for organizations that help Americans get out of debt.
The scene of the Debt Gala this year was the Bell House, a converted 1920s printing factory located deep in the armpit of Gowanus, a postindustrial Brooklyn neighborhood best known for its contaminated canal. This area, which is a bit out of the way and not scenic in a traditional sense, can nonetheless be enchanting at night with the moon glinting off the oil-slicked water.
Though it was drizzling outside, the warm lighting and wooden ceiling of the venue gave the atmosphere a cozy vibe, almost like a ski lodge. The crowd skewed artsy (but normal), and no one was scanning the crowd looking for someone more famous to talk to; there were no A-listers commanding their assistants to fix the train of their gowns. It costs $75,000 for one ticket to the Met Gala; the Debt Gala tickets started at $35.
The dress code in Brooklyn was Sleeping Baddies: Slumber Party. This was a play on the Met Gala’s exhibition, Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion, and the accompanying dress code “The Garden of Time.” The dress code for the Met is kind of complicated, taking its name from a J.G. Ballard short story and involving nature combined with archival garments in a way I frankly can’t explain. It’s a time-honored tradition of the Met Gala to have intellectual underpinnings to the theme which—we can be relatively sure—the celebrities will duly ignore.
The organizers of the Debt Gala, on the other hand, encouraged guests to wear everything from “plush onesies to chic satin separates,” and asked attendees to keep sustainability in mind. This resulted in outfits that were less haute couture and more art-school party. Fuzzy socks, kimonos, eye masks, and lingerie were popular items. One person carried an alarm clock and a to-go coffee cup, another held a neck pillow like a purse. Tom Costello, a co-organizer, had a pillow strapped like a high collar behind his head with feather boas dangling from it like a cape.
This was the second annual Debt Gala; the idea came from three friends, all involved in theater and comedy, who shared a love of the sheer spectacle of the Met Gala. They decided to organize their own version, with proceeds this year being split between the Debt Collective and Dollar For, two organizations dedicated to eradicating household debt.
Last year, the gala partnered with Undue Medical Debt and raised over $15,000 and alleviated almost $2 million in medical debt for individual families. It’s an important cause at a time when American household debt is at an all-time high. When you start to think about how much debt the almost $22 million the Met Gala raised last year could relieve … well, the mind reels.
Following the red carpet was a variety show featuring a lineup of comedians and drag queens. Hosts Zach Teague and Drew Lausch opened with a set of charming, eclectic musical numbers, including a song about poppers. Drag queen Chola Spears lip-synced to a version of Björk’s “It’s Oh So Quiet” interspersed with loud fart noises. Comedian Joyelle Nicole Johnson urged us all to get our escape plans ready for when “for when we go full Gilead”—an upbeat election-year quip! There was even some Anna Wintour humor, with someone remarking that Wintour had been “in and out” tonight, remarking “Oh, she threw up and left.”
I think it’s safe to say that the Debt Gala is not on Wintour’s radar. The longtime Vogue editor and Met Gala doyenne has an event characterized by oodles of money, attention, and prestige. She’s not concerned with what’s happening in Brooklyn on Met Gala eve! But even she cannot keep the real world from creeping into her exclusive party: Last year, you’ll recall, it was a cockroach that stole the show at the Met. The biggest celebrities and most beautiful clothing were on display, but it was a bug skittering across the carpet, unceremoniously smushed by a Getty photographer, that garnered the internet’s attention. Everyone could root for that ordinary cockroach; he didn’t even have to pay to get in.
