The Most Wild, Wonderful, and American(ish) Menswear at the Met Gala 2021

Take a moment and take stock. Doesn't it feel like the first Monday in May? I mean, sure, yeah, it's the second Monday in September. But I'm not talk ing about the calendar here—I'm talking about the vibe. And there is no more "first Monday in May" vibe than the one created when that magical mixture of celebrities and fashion folks descend upon the Metropolitan Museum of Art to celebrate the Costume Institute's latest exhibition and generally stunt on the world. Yes, friends, it's time to take a look at the best-dressed people on the red carpet at the Met Gala. It's usually a springtime affair, but this year, thanks to an ongoing pandemic, the timing has (obviously) shifted.

Not to worry! It's still the Met Gala you know and love. There are wild looks, outfits carefully attuned to the theme—this year, it's "In America: A Lexicon of Fashion"—and other outfits that seem... less so. That means alongside American stalwarts like Thom Browne, Rick Owens, and Tom Ford, you'll find European labels like Versace, Givenchy, Saint Laurent, and Loewe. Now, there's a reasonable argument to be made that global labels are so entwined with American fashion at this point that this is actually pretty on-theme. There's also the possibility that, like in years past, some of the attendees simply did not care about the theme, or actively chose to ignore it. Who knows!

And that's the fun part. Because that's just how this whole thing goes down. And the fact that, despite everything we've had to deal with in the past couple of years, it's still going down like we remember is actually a little comforting. So, yeah, it's not May. But it's the Met Gala. And these are the looks that shined the brightest on one of fashion's biggest nights.