Karlie Kloss pokes fun at her viral Met Gala 2019 dress: ‘Looking camp right in the eye’

‘I still get trolled about this look,’ Kloss admits

Karlie Kloss has finally addressed her viral Met Gala moment, in which she claimed to be “looking camp right in the eye” but somewhat missed the mark.

Back in 2019, the theme for the annual Met Gala was “Camp: Notes on Fashion” based on Susan Sontag’s essay, Notes on Camp. The star-studded guest list pulled out all the fashion stops - Lady Gaga changed her outfit not once but four times on the red carpet alone, while Jared Leto arrived in a custom Gucci suit carrying a replica of his own head.

As for Karlie Kloss, the Victoria’s Secret model teased her highly-anticipated outfit on Instagram before walking the red carpet. “Looking camp right in the eye,” she captioned her photo, which showed Kloss’ laser-focused stare into a compact mirror.

But when she arrived at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City - alongside her husband, Joshua Kushner - her outfit reveal was not exactly on theme. Instead, Kloss wore a metallic gold mini-dress with black puffed sleeves designed by Dapper Dan for Gucci - a more subdued number  compared to the extravagant looks worn by fellow Met Gala attendees. However, the moment has since gone down in history as one of the best memes on the internet and, in turn, has become camp itself.

Now, the 31-year-old model has spoken about the Instagram-post-turned-viral-meme in a video for Vogue shared on 8 November. In the clip, the supermodel broke down some of her most memorable fashion looks, including the 2019 Met Gala.

“Oh boy,” Kloss said, as she turned to the iconic photo. “This was the Met Gala that, I think I broke the internet, but not in a good way. I still get trolled about this look, where I was ‘looking camp straight in the eye’ and I still get - rightfully - get trolled."

“I’ll accept it. Honestly, I deserved that one,” she admitted.

On 8 November, it was announced that the theme for the 2024 Met Gala will be “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion”. The annual fashion fundraiser, which supports the Metropolitan Museum’s Costume Institute, will be centred around 50 historically significant pieces, some of which are far too fragile ever to be worn again - the “Sleeping Beauties”.

Nearly 250 items will also be drawn from the Costume Institute’s permanent collection, featuring designs from Elsa Schiaparelli, Yves Saint Laurent, Christian Dior, and Givenchy to span 400 years of fashion history.

One of the main inspirations behind the theme were two fragile pieces from 1877 that are now too old to be worn: an Elizabethan bodice and a silk satin ball gown by the American couturier, Charles Frederick Worth.

The exhibition will also be strongly focused on sustainability in fashion. It will be designed around three main “zones” - land, sea, and sky - and each zone will symbolise the natural materials used within it to create garments.

In May, the theme for the 2023 Met Gala was in honour of late legendary designer Karl Lagerfeld, titled “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty”. While walking the red carpet, Kloss shocked fans when she revealed that she was expecting her second child with Kushner. The model showed off her growing baby bump in a black dress from Loewe, designed by Jonathan Anderson.

Kloss went on to welcome her second son, Elijah Jude, just two months later. The couple, who were married in 2018, are also parents to son Levi Joseph, two.