The Debt Gala vs. the Met Gala: A tale of two parties

Did you know that fashion publicist Eleanor Lambert threw the first Met Gala in 1948 for $50 a ticket?

That was a lot of money back then, but it might seem a bit low compared to industry magnate Anna Wintour’s modern version of the extravaganza, which costs $75,000 to enter.

The annual ball is full of these kinds of contradictions. It is technically a charity for the Metropolitan Museum’s Costume Institute, yet it has become more of a lavish red carpet affair over the years, and one that never fails to draw sharp criticism for its displays of opulence.

This year’s event on May 5 was no exception. It banked a record-setting $31 million, platformed the triple A-listers of pop culture and Hollywood, and drew the usual ire toward the ultra-wealthy and fashion industry.

This reality has inspired “The Debt Gala,” an economic justice spinoff based in New York City that puts on a distinctly different kind of grand show the night before the Met Gala. Proceeds this year benefit groups that provide aid for medical debt and “ensure access to life-saving, gender-affirming care for the Black transgender community,” per the show’s website.

This year’s Debt Gala theme was “Let them eat cake: Ruined riches.”

However, the 2025 Met Gala reached several new heights in terms of representation in fashion — although it scraped some new lows in the same breath.

Black Dandyism in the spotlight

This year’s event drew its theme from the museum’s “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” exhibit, which explores the historical roots of the manicured Dandy style in Black culture. In both the past and the present, it symbolises an assertion of dignity and self-expression for Black folks, according to Vogue’s Ty Gaskins. The style was once male-dominated, but today is more expansive.

Monica L. Miller, professor of Africana studies at Barnard College, inspired the show with her book, “Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity.”

Andrew Bolton, lead curator at the Met, co-curated the show with Miller. It is the first exhibit at the museum to focus solely on Black designers.

As for who wore what at the Gala, this theme meant the vast significance of Black innovation and taste to the world of fashion was front and center. The effort was led by a group of co-chairs who joined Wintour — A$AP Rocky, Lewis Hamilton, Colman Domingo and Pharrell Williams — as well as a star-studded host committee. All told, record numbers of Black guests attended, Black stylists participated, and Black designers were featured.

As the Associated Press reported live, Grammy-winning artist Doechii arrived in a mystery box on wheels, Olympian Sha’carri Richardson declared her “soft, Black, rich” era, and Oscar-nominated actor Colman Domingo dazzled the carpet in not one, but two outfits.

Blakely Thornton took the carpet by storm, snagging interviews with everyone from Mindy Kaling to Rev. Al Sharpton.

Even former Vice President Kamala Harris, who is considering a run for California Governor, popped out for the night. It was one of her few public appearances since her presidential bid.

In the past, both the Met and its leaders have come under fire for racist practices. The 2025 Gala may have been intended, in part, as a form of response. However, some critics felt any message of the evening was lost in the fray of its elite class of wealthy guests.

“We need to be careful about associating high fashion with respectability and power,” MSNBC’s Ja’han Jones wrote. “It risks marginalizing and disempowering those who either choose not to conform or don’t have the means to do so.”

Some also saw the Met Gala as a nod to the late Andre Leon Talley, Vogue’s former editor-at-large. Talley, who was Black, helped shape the careers of supermodels and styled some of the magazine’s most famous covers. However, despite his larger-than-life persona and grand style, he filed for bankruptcy at least three times and depended on the kindness of friends for financial support and even housing near the end of his life, a fact that highlights some of the very criticisms advanced by the Debt Gala.

Though the evening was years in the making, it came to fruition at a time when the Trump administration has made clear its hostility toward institutions that work on anything even close to equitable programming — including the Kennedy Center and the Smithsonian Museum. However, the Met may be more shielded from these attacks as its funding sources are less exposed to the federal government, The New York Times explained.

In comparison to the bright society lights at the Met who quickly and eagerly shared with reporters on the red carpet the names of the designers whose clothes they were wearing, attendees at the Debt Gala, for which tickets cost $35, talked about outrageous medical costs they or people they love had been forced to pay in recent years.

The attendees included the comptroller of New York, Brad Lander, who highlighted both how happy he was to attend the event and financial issues affecting average Americans.

“I’m even happier to be here at the Debt Gala tonight,” he said, according to The Times of London. “The Met is cool and all, but ballooning medical debt is crushing about 15 percent of Americans.”

Bollywood stars snubbed

Despite many meaningful interpretations of the theme, not every star’s appearance went smoothly.

Shah Rukh Khan, king of Bollywood and one of the world’s most famous men, made his exciting Met Gala debut. Yet fans noticed something off in his media moments throughout the night — interviewers seemed to not know who he was.

Popular artist and actor Diljit Dosanjh, who has a huge international fan base, was similarly glossed over by Vogue’s livestream, and was not interviewed, The New York Times reported.

People on social media, especially South Asian fans, voiced their anger at this skewed treatment.

“American spaces are not the ‘peak’ of recognition,” a popular content creator named Rida wrote over a video following the Gala, in which she broke down just how damning the treatment of Black or Brown celebrities from other countries is when they come to the United States.

International stars who fared well and garnered fawning media attention at the Met Gala included Bad Bunny, Jennie (from Blackpink) and others.