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Rihanna at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.”
Rihanna at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.”
Photo: Evan Agostini / Associated Press
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Rihanna attends the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.”
Rihanna attends the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.”
Photo: Neilson Barnard / Getty Images
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Katy Perry attends the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.”
Katy Perry attends the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.”
Photo: Jamie McCarthy / Getty Images
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Katy Perry attends the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.”
Katy Perry attends the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.”
Photo: Neilson Barnard / Getty Images
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Madonna attends the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.”
Madonna attends the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.”
Photo: Neilson Barnard / Getty Images
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Jennifer Lopez at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.”
Jennifer Lopez at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.”
Photo: Jamie McCarthy / Getty Images
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Amal Clooney and George Clooney attend the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.”
Amal Clooney and George Clooney attend the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.”
Photo: Jamie McCarthy / Getty Images
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Amal Clooney and George Clooney attend the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.”
Amal Clooney and George Clooney attend the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.”
Photo: Jamie McCarthy / Getty Images
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Keltie Knight attends the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.”
Keltie Knight attends the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.”
Photo: Jamie McCarthy / Getty Images
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Keltie Knight attends the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.”
Keltie Knight attends the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.”
Photo: Jamie McCarthy / Getty Images
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Lisa Love attends the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.”
Lisa Love attends the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.”
Photo: Jamie McCarthy / Getty Images
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Sarah Jessica Parker and Andy Cohen attend the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.”
Sarah Jessica Parker and Andy Cohen attend the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.”
Photo: Neilson Barnard / Getty Images
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Sarah Jessica Parker attends the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.”
Sarah Jessica Parker attends the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.”
Photo: Neilson Barnard / Getty Images
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Chadwick Boseman attends the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.”
Chadwick Boseman attends the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.”
Photo: Jamie McCarthy / Getty Images
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Laura Love attends the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.”
Laura Love attends the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.”
Photo: ANGELA WEISS;Angela Weiss / AFP / Getty Images
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Lynda Carter attends the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.”
Lynda Carter attends the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.”
Photo: Neilson Barnard / Getty Images
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Rita Ora attends the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.”
Rita Ora attends the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.”
Photo: Evan Agostini / Associated Press
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Rita Ora attends attends the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.”
Rita Ora attends attends the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.”
Photo: Evan Agostini / Associated Press
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Alessandro Michele, Lana Del Rey and Jared Leto attend the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.”
Alessandro Michele, Lana Del Rey and Jared Leto attend the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.”
Photo: Jamie McCarthy / Getty Images
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Amanda Seyfried attends the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.”
Amanda Seyfried attends the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.”
Photo: Jamie McCarthy / Getty Images
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Lily Collins attends the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.”
Lily Collins attends the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.”
Photo: Jamie McCarthy / Getty Images
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Bella Hadid attends the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.”
Bella Hadid attends the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.”
Photo: Evan Agostini / Associated Press
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Bella Hadid attends the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.”
Bella Hadid attends the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.”
Photo: Evan Agostini / Associated Press
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Lena Waithe attends the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.”
Lena Waithe attends the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.”
Photo: Jamie McCarthy / Getty Images
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Janelle Monae attends the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.”
Janelle Monae attends the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.”
Photo: Neilson Barnard / Getty Images
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Rosie Huntington-Whiteley attends the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.”
Rosie Huntington-Whiteley attends the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.”
Photo: Jamie McCarthy / Getty Images
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Diane Kruger attends the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.”
Diane Kruger attends the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.”
Photo: Jamie McCarthy / Getty Images
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Diane Kruger attends the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.”
Diane Kruger attends the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.”
Photo: Neilson Barnard / Getty Images
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Photo: Neilson Barnard / Getty Images
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Salma Hayek attends the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.”
Salma Hayek attends the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.”
Photo: Neilson Barnard / Getty Images
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Designer Jeremy Scott and Cardi B attend the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.”
Designer Jeremy Scott and Cardi B attend the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.”
Photo: Neilson Barnard / Getty Images
Is the Met Gala’s Catholic fashion culturally appropriate or appropriation?
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If it’s the first Monday in May, that means one thing for fashion lovers: the annual Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute celebration, a.k.a. the Met Gala. The invitation-only event — which raises funds for the institute, now named after longtime Vogue editor-in-chief and Met board member Anna Wintour (who wore white Chanel) — has become one of the highest-grossing galas in the world.
Curator Andrew Bolton’s exhibition, “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination,” explores how the visual language of the Catholic Church has influenced secular fashion, through ensembles by Rodarte, Cristobal Balenciaga, Jean Paul Gaultier, Versace, Christian Lacroix, Rick Owens and others. Also on display are 40 ecclesiastical masterworks from the Sistine Chapel sacristy, including sacred papal vestments and tiaras (headpieces) from 15 popes.
Celebrities took the theme to heart, sporting everything from angelic wings (Katy Perry in Versace) to halos (Rosie Huntington-Whiteley in Ralph Lauren) and crosses (Jennifer Lopez in Balmain) to interpretations of shrines (Sarah Jessica Parker’s gold Dolce & Gabbana gown and nativity headpiece) and holy vestments and Sacred Heart homages (Jared Leto and Lana Del Rey in Gucci).
Stealing the night, as per usual for the Met Gala, was singer and gala co-chair Rihanna, in a Maison Margiela Artisanal gown by John Galliano that heavily referenced the same kind of traditional white papal vestments on display, complete with tall, white Mitre pope hat.
As stunning as Rihanna and many of the guests looked in their thematically appropriate garb, it raises the question of where the line between homage and offensive is now being drawn in the age of greater awareness and sensitivity around the topic of cultural appropriation.
Cultural appropriation — which the Cambridge Dictionary defines as “the act of taking or using things from a culture that is not your own, especially without showing that you understand or respect this culture” — has been a subject of intense discussion in sociology as well as the entertainment and fashion industries in recent years.
The music festival renaissance of the past five years has no doubt contributed to this dialogue as some festivalgoers have been photographed wearing sacred or ceremonial items, including American Indian war bonnets and textile patterns, Indian bindis, and Catholic items like re-creations of nuns’ habits, priest collars and papal vestments, which has inspired a backlash.
While it’s mostly understood that dressing up as a member of another race or ethnic identity is offensive, there seems to be more nuance in the discussion of religious references at festivals and in fashion. Religious groups and cultures that have historically suffered greater degrees of marginalization seem to be more clearly off limits: For example, a non-Jewish person dressing as a rabbi as a fun festival outfit would undoubtedly raise offense in most people. Same with a runway look that is a recreation of a sacred Hindu deity created by a non-Hindu designer.
But what about referencing a powerful, dominant cultural force, like Catholicism, in fashion? Many of the designers featured in the exhibition are themselves Catholic and used aesthetic touchstones of the church in their work because they found the motifs beautiful, like Cristobal Balenciaga or Christian Lacroix.
There’s also more subversive takes by Catholic designers like Jean Paul Gaultier, who received considerable flack from Catholic leadership for his runway collections and Catholic-referencing tour costumes for Madonna (who sang at the gala wearing a look by the designer). Both designer and singer notably used their Catholic-inspired work as a way of commenting on the church they grew up in, and the marginalization they experienced as a gay man and a woman. In her own moment of commentary on the place of LGBT people in the Catholic church, writer Lena Waithe, the creator of the series “Master of None” and “The Chi,” wore a rainbow gay-pride flag cape designed by Wes Gordon for Carolina Herrera.
But what about designers and pop stars who have no personal experience within the religion or culture? It’s not known whether Rihanna is herself Catholic (it’s been noted that the dominant Christian faith of her native Barbados is Anglican), and online reaction to the look ranged from praise by fans to outrage by some Catholics.
While Teen Vogue recently called out a festivalgoer at Coachella for wearing a pope costume as an example of cultural appropriation, don’t expect the magazine to do the same to the one-named singer. Teen Vogue is owned by Condé Nast, the dominion of gala chairwoman and Condé Nast artistic director Wintour.
For more looks from the gala, check out the gallery and judge for yourself where the looks fall on the appreciation or appropriation spectrum.
Tony Bravo is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: tbravo@sfchronicle.com
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