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The Met Gala, an annual benefit event for the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, is considered one of the world’s biggest events on the fashion calendar. It is known for its exclusive guest list, its expensive tickets and – most of all – its extravagant outfits, based on a different theme each year.This year, that theme was Camp: Notes on Fashion – to coincide with an upcoming exhibition at the Met, inspired by photographer Susan Sontag’s 1964 essay, Notes on Camp. The outfits this year will therefore, like the exhibition, be based on “irony, humour, parody, pastiche, artifice, theatricality and exaggeration”.And showing everyone how it was done at the very start of the night was singer Lady Gaga, who arrived in a billowing pink outfit which was not quite what it seemed at first glance.
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Lady Gaga, one of the event’s co-hosts, arrived in a billowing pink outfit…
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Which opened up to reveal a black gown, her second outfit…
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Designer Brandon Maxwell then undid this dress to reveal…
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Lady Gaga’s third outfit, a slim-fitting pink gown
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…Which she then took off, to reveal her final outfit
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Serena Williams, who is also co-hosting, arrived in a neon yellow gown – with matching Nike trainers
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Why wear just one hat when you can wear four, like Janelle Monae
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The third co-host is Harry Styles, who wore a sheer black top and high-waisted trousers
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Alessandro Michele, of Gucci fashion house, is the event’s final co-host
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Singer Billy Porter arrived with an entourage…
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…Before flexing his wings in front of the crowds
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Katy Perry, meanwhile, is dressed as a chandelier
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Here are newlyweds Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas, who are said to have first met at the Met Gala in 2017
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Laverne Cox went for a sleek black dress and bold make up
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Actor and comedian Regina Hall rocks a gold dress with pastel pink hair
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And theatre owner Jordan Roth has, very aptly, turned himself into a theatre hall…
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…With what appears to be a self-portrait on the back
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Celine Dion, perhaps the original queen of ‘camp’, did not disappoint
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Actor Jared Leto clearly believes that two heads are better than one
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US drag queen Aquaria went for painted hair and diamante hand-pieces
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While actor Yara Shahidi has gone all out with the feathers…
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…Much like the Met Gala’s main host, Vogue editor Anna Wintour
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