I couldn’t leave this inquiry without discussing this year’s most controversial outfit: the Tax the Rich dress worn by AOC or more formally, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. AOC is an American politician and activist. She has served as the U.S. Representative for New York’s 14th congressional district since 2019, and is a member of the Democratic Party.
The Los Angeles Times is quoted saying “Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ruffled lots of feathers with her 2021 Met Gala dress — and not the fashionable kind.” This is because AOC showed up to the Met Gala in a floor-length white mermaid gown with Tax the Rich in big, red, bold letters across the back of the dress.
Instantly criticized for attending an affair full of luxury and opulence while condemning wealth inequality and ( indirectly ) those that can afford to go, AOC responded with “NYC elected officials are regularly invited to and attend the Met due to our responsibilities in overseeing our city’s cultural institutions that serve the public.” AOC’s dress was designed by designer Aurora James, an activist and “sustainably focused Black woman immigrant designer” who began her fashion career at a flea market in Brooklyn.
Interestingly enough, James was born in Toronto, so received a lot of backlash for designing a dress with such a controversial statement towards the U.S. since she was an “immigrant” to the States.
I could have done an inquiry on these two fabulous women alone. Their backgrounds, their political views, their fashion. I love that these two made waves at such a coveted event. If nothing else, it starts a conversation, it gets people thinking and challenging their own views around wealth inequality.
Reflection
I leave this inquiry with a whole file of information, a reserved space in my grey matter just for the Met Gala. Never will it come across my screen or feed without me taking a pause to look a little closer, think a little deeper and connect it to the research I did. I wouldn’t quite call myself an expert, but I am definitely well-versed compared to when I started this inquiry. I know how the whole operation works, the names behind the event, the celebrities who attend and I have been exposed to celebrities that I didn’t even know existed.
Does this inquiry make me a better person? No, not really, but it did teach me how to ask a question and run with it. It taught me how to start with a single inquiry and watch it develop in many directions. I appreciated the opportunity to try an inquiry of my own with the hopes now to transfer this method of learning to my students.
