A cost of living crisis, climate change clamours, a not so looming recession, mass layoffs, refugee crises—are just a few of the issues the world is living with. And then there’s a night of uber glamour, the MET gala, of a bunch of privileged folks paying an homage to a no doubt talented but highly problematic figure. But hey, it’s fashion and glamour, and we all need to be distracted from real world problems, so why not.
Keeping aside the debate of whether Lagerfeld needs to be cancelled without taking into account his contribution to fashion, there was another glaring bit that queer makeup artist Shantanu Dhope pointed out on their Instagram story. The marked absence of drag queens at the Gala. “It does suck that there were zero drag queens invited to the Met Gala,” he wrote. “Drag queens have always and continue to push the boundaries of what’s next in fashion and beauty. It would’ve been nice to see them represented on fashion’s biggest stage, and for industry leaders to support them given the relentless political attacks this year.” 
Violet Chachki, Met Gala 2019
Credits: Instagram
The opulence of a Met Gala lends itself so organically to the art of drag. So much of what we do today in makeup is actually what we have picked up from drag queens—the joyful use of colour cosmetics. Contouring, lace wigs, lashes, perfectly groomed brows. A once marginalized and ostracised group helped us embrace facets of our personality we never thought we had. Not to mention the over the top expression of fashion. So much so that The Cut published a piece last autumn of how ‘drag queens are the new VIPs of fashion week’, citing Symone sitting on the front row at Carolina Herrera.
“I genuinely think if drag queens are invited to the Met the other people’s games will be over! Name one star who does their own hair and makeup, makes their own outfits, styles it, except the drag queens! It’s sad that for a fashion event there were no drag queens on the red carpet!” says Glorious Luna, who adds they would have loved to see Violet Chachki, Ru Paul, Shasha Colby, and Shasha Velour express themselves at this year’s Met Gala.
Aquaria, Met Gala 2019
Credits: Tumblr
This is particularly telling especially since in 2019, when the theme was ‘Camp’, Violet Chachki and Aquaria made history by being the first drag queens to be invited to the Met Gala. The same year RuPaul walked the carpet, and faced a bit of a puzzled reaction to the suit he chose to wear, as opposed to using the opportunity to flaunt the extravagant creativity of drag fashion. American actress wore a pinstriped Pyer Moss suit with the reminder “Black drag queens invented camp”.
One of the many criticisms of Met Gala 2023 was the choice of Karl Lagerfeld as the ‘theme’. The late German designer and photographer was revolutionary in the world of fashion—he revived Chanel’s relevancy in the 1980s when he took over as creative director, with attention to detail via extravagant storytelling and innovative designs, including a reinvention of the classics. However, he was also bigoted, known for making derogatory remarks against immigrants, fat people, and sexual assault survivors. Buzzfeed did a piece on the looks from Met Gala 2023 that Lagerfeld would have likely hated, and Pedro Pascal features on it.
Lagerfeld celebrated drag queens in his own way, shooting Austrian drag queen and singer Conchita Wurst in 2017 for Carine Roitfeld’s CR Fashion Book. The absence of drag queens at the Met Gala this year isn’t on him. However, the missed opportunity further highlights how out of touch with reality certain aspects of the lifestyle industry are. The Gala has been used in the past as a platform for headline makers to make political statements.