Fashion icons and Hollywood’s biggest stars stepped out on the first Monday in May for the annual Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute gala. This year’s exhibit and theme is “Camp: Notes on Fashion,” inspired by Susan Sontag’s famous 1964 essay in which she argues that “camp” is “love of the unnatural: of artifice and exaggeration ... style at the expense of content.”
Perry collaborated with Moschino designer Jeremy Scott on her outrageous chandelier-inspired outfit for the night.
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“Who has ever been to a ball that did not have a chandelier?!” Scott asked Vogue. “The idea of elegance itself is quite camp and I wanted to play with that concept, poke a lil fun at it with a loving nudge.”
Kerry’s outfit is perhaps even more intricate than one would imagine. Scott told Vogue it took his team six weeks just to place thousands of Swarovski crystals on the dress. Then they used actual chandelier parts and created a corset with two hidden battery packs so the outfit actually functions as a light fixture.
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Perry mastered the art of balancing a wobbling chandelier headpiece while walking the red carpet.
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The outfit is covered in Swarovski crystals that took dressmakers six weeks to create.
Perry’s red carpet look seems like one of her two outfits for the event, as she teased in photos posted to Instagram.
“First we set the table, then we dine,” she captioned the post. In the first photo, Perry showcased her sparkly shoes from her chandelier outfit. A second photo featured jewel-encrusted sneakers and a clutch that resembled cheeseburgers.