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Rejoice! The Next Met Gala is Going to Be Campy As Hell

The Met announced its 2019 Costume Institute theme as "Camp: Notes on Fashion," which will honor "exaggerated" figures in pop culture in tribute to Susan Sontag. Expect nods to drag queens, Bowie, Serena Williams, and others.

On Tuesday, the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute announced that the 2019 theme of its annual exhibit will be "Camp: Notes on Fashion," drawing from a famous essay by writer Susan Sontag. Camp, as defined by Sontag, is a love of the unnatural, and/or an exaggerated form of something.

“We are going through an extreme camp moment, and it felt very relevant to the cultural conversation to look at what is often dismissed as empty frivolity but can be actually a very sophisticated and powerful political tool, especially for marginalized cultures,” Andrew Bolton, the curator in charge of the Costume Institute told The New York Times . “Whether it’s pop camp, queer camp, high camp, or political camp — Trump is a very camp figure — I think it’s very timely.” For those of you lost, fret not, I was, too. Listen: I know how to spot a fake Louis Vuitton bag and love a good legging but the deep aesthetics of fashion sometimes escape me. The fact is, high fashion—or rather, fashiòn—can be rather intimidating. Traditionally reserved for the super rich, most of us mere mortals, spending our money on GrubHub and public transportation don't get the opportunity to wear designer threads on the regular. But 2019's Met Gala and Costume Institute exhibition themed around Camp is actually something I can get into. Why?

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Anything involving RuPaul, I'm here for
The New York Time's Vanessa Friedman mentioned RuPaul's Drag Race as one of the items that make its way into the costume exhibit. Even before the drag star had a successful television show, he was considered campy because of his theatrical performances in women's clothing. I'd love to see RuPaul's bedazzled confederate flag dress from To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar in this exhibit.

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Serena Williams is a co-chair
The tennis legend and stunning supermom will be co-chairing the exhibit along with Lady Gaga, Harry Styles, Gucci creative director Alessandro Michele, and Vogue's editor-in-chief Anna Wintour. Williams said very little after being disrespected on the tennis court this summer, so I'm excited to see what political or social message she'll share through art. I'm ready for the shade!

Photo courtesy of Columbia Records

The exhibit's designer worked with Bowie
As reported by The New York Times, the exhibition will be designed by the scenographer Jan Versweyveld, who also created David Bowie’s “Lazarus" —so basically, expect dark-drama realness.

Photo courtesy of Happy Birthday, Marsha!

Stonewall will be remembered
Several of the 175 pieces on display will be from the Stonewall riots of 1969, to reflect on "the use of camp as a language in the queer community," as noted by Bolton. There will also be men’s and women’s wear, sculpture, paintings, and drawings, divided into two sections from designers like Balenciaga and Miuccia Prada.