Major fashion events are currently in a standstill because of the global pandemic. Aside from live streaming runways, some fashion week shows have either been cancelled or postponed to a later date.
Perhaps the biggest event affected was this year’s Met Gala, which was scheduled to take place on May 4 and is now postponed indefinitely. According to an internal email sent to Met staffers, the Metropolitan Museum of Art “will remain closed through Saturday, April 4” and that “all programs and events through May 15 will be canceled or postponed.”
As of writing, the 2020 Met Gala doesn’t have a final date yet.
The 2020 theme was supposed to be “About Time: Fashion and Duration” to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the museum. The Met would feature approximately 160 pieces spanning from 1870 to present day. Likewise, attendees were encouraged to look at different periods in time for fashion inspiration during the gala.
Netizens were so excited about the possibility of seeing personalities dress in period outfits á la Tilda Swinton in “Orlando.”
MET GALA 2020 theme: ‘About Time: Fashion and Duration’. Curator of the Costume Institute Andrew Bolton has found the inspiration for #MetaGala 2020 in time travelling movie ‘Orlando’, the movie directed by Sally Potter in 1992 based on the novel by Virginia Woolf. pic.twitter.com/ge3SFniuV9
— vísh (@yasiruvismini_) November 7, 2019
But some fashion lovers are doing whatever they can to make a virtual Met Gala happen sans the star power and red carpet. Here’s how they’re doing it, plus our guess on how artificial intelligence (AI) might play a part in this:
High Fashion Twitter
Also known as “HF Twitter,” the account was created by Aria Olson to”inspire discussion and debate” and “[celebrate] the art of fashion in relation to the annual [Metropolitan Museum Met Gala].” The online event encourages HF Twitter’s followers to post their own looks on the day of the gala, become “hosts” and compile a list of attendees’ looks to create a discussion on Twitter.
@ hf twitter: can we make our own version of the met gala? everyone who wants to participate could post their looks the day of. we could have a couple people "host" and compile a thread of all of the attendees looks. maybe get an outfit voting thread going too… food for thought
— aria (@pughatory) November 7, 2019
Although the account was created before COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, HF Twitter is still determined to make a virtual Met Gala happen. “We said f*ck the virus, we ball!” said one follower.
Given the anxiety and stress that the Covid-19 outbreak is causing, we believe that continuing to move ahead with the HFTwit Met Gala is the right choice. Hopefully, this event will serve as a little spot of joy and unity for this amazing community.
– HFTwit Met Staff
— HF Twit Met Gala (@HFMetGala) March 16, 2020
We don’t know yet how HF Twitter would pull this off in May. We’ll just have to wait and see what their agenda will be.
The Sims models
Known as “Simstagrammers,” these content creators have Instagram accounts dedicated to Sims characters dressed in high-fashion pieces from labels like Thierry Mugler and putting them in runway shows and fashion events. Tumblr user Voguesims4 even designs downloadable virtual venues for The Sims 4 so Simstagrammers could live out their fashion dreams. One of their latest projects is for the Met Gala that content creators can use to hold their own virtual gala.
Rise of the AI influencers
In 2018, we saw several brands using AI influencers to endorse their products. The most notable ones were Lil Miquela (who also has a flourishing music career) and fashion model Shudu.
We won’t be surprised if these AI influencers’ creators would take this opportunity to participate in a virtual Met Gala. Heck, we’re willing to bet that Barbie, who is also an online influencer, might get in on this too.
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What do you think of a virtual Met Gala? Would you participate in it if you had the chance?
Photo courtesy of @skinnycleo’s Instagram account
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