The Met Gala’s Next Theme Is ‘Camp’, and Harry Styles Is Hosting

Catholicism, Rei Kawakubo, technology and China: these are recent themes of the Met Gala, which yesterday revealed the theme of its next event: camp. Hosted by Anna Wintour, Lady Gaga and Harry Styles, the 2019 gala will explore ideas of camp explored in Susan Sontag’s seminal 1964 essay Notes on ‘Camp’. Of course, this relates to the subject of the Costume Institute’s 2019 exhibition which is titled Camp: Notes on Fashion. Its curator Andrew Bolton says this theme “felt very relevant to the cultural conversation”. “Whether it’s pop camp, queer camp, high camp or political camp – Trump is a very camp figure – I think it’s very timely.” The question is, how will the gala’s guests respond to the theme?