Of course I was invited to the Met Gala this year! Not!! Being a humble West Village model and style blogger, I don’t have the gravitas of the glitterati invited to the ball-to-end-all-balls. But as you may recall, I dressed in honor of the non-gala last year, and I was fascinated to catch a few glimpses of the scene this year.

All photos are screenshots of Vogue’s live streaming of the red carpet. © Vogue. (For an eyeful of the New York Times’ stunning gala photos, see here.)  I dipped in and out of Vogue’s fawning coverage for a few hours. The red beige carpet began at 5:30 PM, and the final guests arrived after 10 PM.

On September 9, during fashion week, Anna Wintour and New York Times fashion director Vanessa Friedman were joined by Nicolas Ghesquière, artistic director of women’s collections at Louis Vuitton, actress Tracee Ellis Ross and José Neves, the C.E.O. of Farfetch to discuss shifts in fashion caused by the pandemic. They said changes in cultural values have had a big impact on fashion, shifting the focus from multiple collections a year to sustainabile materials and lasting design. The panel believed that young people’s voices are getting stronger, as this demographic wants to support brands and designers that reflect their values. I thought this was a lot of hot air.

But maybe the panel was sincere. To begin with, this year’s gala hosts, Amanda Gorman, Timothée Chalamet, Naomi Osaka and Billie Eilish, are all under the age of 26. A true brat pack.

Social consciousness was on vivid display. Attending the $15 million revenue generator for the Met’s Costume Institute (this year the gala raised a record $16.75 million), with tickets priced at $35K per seat and tables at $300,000, the young megastars glistening at the gala may not be representative of their less famous contemporaries. However, many guests wore their politics on their garments.

In my opinion, AOC was the most beautiful woman there, and one of the most eloquently dressed, in a white Brother Vellies dress with “Tax the Rich” emblazoned in giant red letters on her backside, and the same message on her handbag. Designer Aurora James started the 15% Pledge campaign—for individuals and businesses to commit to buying and selling at least 15% of products and services from black-owned businesses.

In keeping with the theme of political messaging, Megan Rapinoe carried a red, white and blue purse that read “IN GAY WE TRUST,” matching her red pantsuit and blue star-spangled shirt.

Although slightly over the three-quarter-century mark, the stunning Representative Carolyn Maloney of New York also shone in a political message. Her dress streamed with epaulets bearing the message “Equal Rights for Women.” Her handbag advocated for the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment. All right!!

I absolutely loved Billie Eilish’s Oscar de la Renta princess dress. This pale pink tulle fantasy with a 15-foot skirt was radically different from her usual androgynous goth look. She wore the dress under the condition that the brand stop using fur altogether—a condition that the label’s chief executive, Alex Bolen, agreed to! Now that’s star power.

I wanted to lick Frank Ocean’s limesicle green hair, and the lime-skinned baby robot was certainly an interesting fashion accessory. He wasn’t the only star with a hair statement. Russell Westbrook had patriotic sapphire blue hair with white stars.

The event was a splendid promise of a world that may be changing for the better as a result of the terrible trials we have been through. At the very least, it made us forget our worries for an evening, instead being consumed with envy for the glamour and glitter of the gala.