“Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination” was the theme for the this year’s Met Gala, the annual commencement party thrown in honor of New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art spring exhibition, specifically their Costume Institute. Just last night, hundreds of celebrities adorned in Catholic-esque clothing pieces strode along the red carpet at this invite-only charity event. Meant to showcase the beauty in the inner workings of the Catholic religion, the theme of this year’s Met Gala show fixates on the seemingly mutualistic relationship that the art of fashion has with “the devotional practices and traditions of Catholicism,”according to the masterminds behind the Gala. Though there were a few bland, boring celebrities that chose not to follow the theme, or just couldn’t think creatively and dynamically enough to create an ensemble that would live up to the motif of Heavenly Bodies, the majority of attendees went all out and completely utilized the vast opportunity for unimaginable beauty that the fine arts of Catholicism can bring.

However, there were many who viewed the theme of the 2018 as too controversial, their justification pertaining to how religious garments could very easily be misappropriated. The curator of the Met Gala, Andrew Bolton explained why he chose Christianity as the main religious focal point of the show: “I was worried that it might be misinterpreted, that the other four religions might seem like tokens. And when the Vatican came on board, it made the imbalance even greater. So I decided to focus on Catholicism, because the body of material was stronger.”  

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