What one person interprets as camp might not translate that way to someone else. "The whole point of Camp is to dethrone the serious," Sontag explains. Gaudy. It can simultaneously be beautiful and overwhelmingly tacky. And in 2018, Rihanna stole the show, channeling a sexy Pope in a custom Maison Margiela by John Galliano to commemorate the theme, "Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination. Moschino’s Jeremy Scott is perhaps one of the most well-known figures who frequently channels camp. Consider Viktor & Rolf's meme gowns, Vaquera's oversized bath robes, and Chanel's supermarket set at its fall/winter 2014 show. At the event in 2017, Solange looked extra campy — and cozy — in a couture puffer jacket by Thom Browne.

In 2015, when the theme was "China: Through The Looking Glass," Sarah Jessica Parker stepped out in an H&M ensemble topped off with a custom Philip Treacy headpiece that resembled a live fire. Part of what makes the ball so entertaining is seeing how celebrities will interpret the Met Gala theme. These are some of the terms used to describe camp fashion. "Camp [as a theme] will certainly be exciting," award-winning fashion writer and editor Constance White told "Drag is camp, parodying gender and culture in its extravagance of visual and attitude, including everyone from 1930s cabaret icon Josephine Baker, who swathed herself in rhinestones, to David Bowie’s gender-bending For the most part, camp style boasts an air of irreverence — it’s in your face, and it doesn’t make any apologies for being loud and obvious. In 1870, in a letter produced in evidence at his examination before a magistrate at Bow-street, London, on suspicion of then-illegal homosexual acts, crossdresser Frederick Park referred to his "campish undertakings"; but the letter does not make clear what these were.

On camp as a sensibility, particularly as it’s perceived in clothing and décor, Sontag snappily observes:Camp is a vision of the world in terms of style—but a particular kind of style.

But in all fairness, camp is also pretty subjective.

That same year, as it happens, writer and filmmaker Susan Sontag published an influential essay, “Notes on ‘Camp,'” which the Met is using as a framework for its exhibition.On camp as a sensibility, particularly as it’s perceived in clothing and décor, Sontag snappily observes:For camp, Sontag points to a cultural antecedent in the extravagance of legendary French king Louis XIV and his Palace of Versailles, whose royal courts the Met show indeed highlights. Some have attempted to root the word In so many ways, it can seem easier to define what camp isn’t. Of course, camp fashion has reached well beyond the confines of fashion runways and magazine spreads. Kitschy. What one person interprets as camp might not translate that way to someone else. It's been a popular source of style inspiration on red carpets for decades. A who’s who in fashion, art, and culture held each year at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute, the Met Gala is a black-tie fundraiser that kicks off the institute’s spring exhibition.The 2019 theme for the event and exhibition is “Camp: Notes on Fashion.” As the To paraphrase Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart in a 1964 case on obscenity: you know it when you see it, camp. And in 2018, Rihanna stole the show, channeling a sexy Pope in custom Maison Margiela by John Galliano to commemorate the theme, "Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination. "While most of us can only experience The Met Gala from a distance, reading, watching, and studying up on the night’s events, the spring 2019 exhibition offers the opportunity for anyone to see camp style IRL.From May 9th until September 8th, you can get a firsthand look at the 250 pieces of camp clothing, paintings, sculptures, and drawings encased in the “Camp: Notes on Fashion” exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

Tellingly, one of the best examples of modern-day pure camp in fashion is barely even considered fashion at all: The spectacle that is the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. Camp can also be a social practice and function as a style and performance identity for several types of entertainment including film, cabaret, and In 1870, in a letter produced in evidence at his examination before a magistrate at ostentatious, exaggerated, affected, theatrical; effeminate or homosexual; pertaining to, characteristic of, homosexuals. So as a noun, 'camp' behavior, mannerisms, et cetera. Kitschy.

Ironic. In doing so, camp celebrates the trivial and superficial and form over content. Ironic. "That conflicting mix of attraction and displeasure is what makes camp fashion such a paradox. Watch a video preview of the exhibition Camp: Notes on Fashion, on view at The Met Fifth Avenue from May 9 through September 8, 2019. Sontag's definition of camp has typically been summed up as failed seriousness. Take, for example, the infamous "meat dress" Lady Gaga wore to the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards. 'My "campish undertakings" are not meeting with the success they deserve. Take, for example, the infamous "meat dress" Lady Gaga wore to the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards. "That conflicting mix of attraction and displeasure is what makes camp fashion such a paradox. 1909); a man exhibiting such behavior.According to the dictionary, this sense is "etymologically obscure". (cf.