With the Met Gala going digital this year, Billy Porter remains the undefeated queen of turning looks and stunting pretty

With the Met Gala 2020 postponed indefinitely, Billy Porter has called on fashion fans to recreate their favourite looks from years gone by – but it seems highly unlikely any will be able to top his iconic 2019 look.

On the first Monday of May each year, fashion’s elite gather at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute Gala, or the Met Gala for short.

The event’s red carpet is the ultimate opportunity for drama and peacocking. Each year, the 600 attendees are given a brief – the 2020 Met Gala theme was to be “About Time: Fashion and Duration” – and are asked to dig deep and donate to the institute.

For most stars, it’s an opportunity to dress to the nines. For Billy Porter, the Met Gala is a chance to turn it up to 11.

This year the Pose actor is the face of Vogue’s #MetGalaChallenge, which asks readers to share their best recreations ahead of a digital event, A Moment With the Met. Due to coronavirus, the 2020 Gala, which would have taken placed Monday (May 4) has been cancelled.

Billy Porter’s 2019 Met Gala look was legendary.

Last year Porter stole the show in a stunning bejewelled catsuit — complete with 10-foot gold wings.

Billy Porter attends The 2019 Met Gala Celebrating Camp: Notes on Fashion at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 06, 2019 in New York City. (Jamie McCarthy/Getty)

The category was camp, and Porter was carried into the Met Gala by six shirtless men.

Porter’s outfit at the Met Gala 2019 was designed by The Blonds and took its inspiration from Ancient Egypt. Porter dressed as a “Sun God,” reported Vogue, who spoke to the actor ahead of his red carpet appearance.

As well as his show-stopping outfit, Porter was also blinged out with eye-popping accessories, including a 24-karat gold headdress and custom gold shoes designed by Giuseppe Zanotti.

Billy Porter attends The 2019 Met Gala Celebrating Camp: Notes on Fashion at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 06, 2019 in New York City. (John Lamparski/Getty)

Billy Porter’s take on camp at the Met Gala.

“Camp is often used as a pejorative,” Porter told Vogue about his outfit.

“What I love about having it at the Met Gala, and contextualising camp, is it brings honour to a word and genre that can be discounted very often, or thought of as cheesy. When it’s done properly, it’s one of the highest forms of fashion and art.”

Porter told Vogue he spoke to Pose creator Ryan Murphy about what he should wear to the Met Gala ahead of fashion’s biggest night.

Some of the inspirations for the outfit include the classic Elizabeth Taylor movie, Cleopatra, about the Ptolemaic-era queen.

Designer David Blond told Vogue that, overall, “Billy will be wearing well over a million crystals, beads, and chains!”

Billy Porter attends the 91st Annual Academy Awards at Hollywood and Highland on February 24, 2019 in Hollywood, California. (Frazer Harrison/Getty)

Porter told Vogue that this was his first time being invited to the Met Gala after years of trying.

The veteran Broadway star acknowledged that he couldn’t top his incredible tuxedo gown at the Oscars in February, but wasn’t trying to.

“How am I going to top a tuxedo dress? It’s not about topping it. It’s just about showing up and being the best bitch you can be,” he said.

• Nov 29 2023

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