The Met Gala, for those who don’t know, is an annual fundraising benefit for the Metropolitan Museum of Arts in New York City. Each year at this event celebrities dress up in outfits that correlate with the theme of that year’s Costume Institute exhibit. This year’s theme was ‘Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination’ and a lot of celebrities did not come to play.

On May 7, 2018 music artist, fashion designers, actors, models and so many others walked the red carpet showing off the best and worst outfits. Some celebrities like Selena Gomez, Kylie Jenner, Kendall Jenner, Tracee Ellis Ross, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Amal Clooney, proved to us that just because you have money, doesn’t mean you have style and that maybe it’s beneficial to not choose your outfit at the last moment.

Besides the terrible outfits, there were some that met the theme entirely and had many fans shook. Lana Del Rey wore custom Gucci inspired by Our Lady of Sorrows. Zendaya’s customized Versace dress embodied the spirit of the Catholic saint Joan of Arc. Priyanka Chopra wore Ralph Lauren which didn’t hit the theme right on the nose but was still her Sunday best. SZA wore a Versace dress and a halo designed by Chris Habana, all tied together by her makeup which brought together the look of the Weeping Madonna of Syracuse. Rihanna came as a pope in customized Margiela and while some would say her look was a little risque, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, head of New York Catholic diocese, saw nothing wrong with her look and even joked that she [Rihanna] gave his miter back to him the next day.

Although many people loved the look, others found it to be culturally appropriating and sacrilegious mockery of the Church. “‘I didn’t really see anything sacrilegious, I may have seen some things in poor taste, but I didn’t detect anybody out to offend the church,’” Cardinal Dolan said on the Catholic SiriusXM Channel. A lot of people were unaware that the Met Gala event was approved by the Vatican, which even loaned 40 priceless items that were put on display. “Since it was approved by the Vatican its more cultural appreciation than cultural appropriation,”  said senior C. Audrey Harper.

Regardless of the outfits, the opening night of the exhibit was a success and the exhibit itself is stunning. The Met Gala of 2018 definitely did not disappoint.