Regina King, in a copper sequin gown with a large shoulder embellishment, said she wasn't ready to go full camp, so she stuck to high lacquered hair.
"So, glamour is camp," the Oscar-winner said. "Maybe next year the comfort level will have expanded."
"Camp is the art of being extra and I've always been extra," he laughed. "I'm from the theater so it's easy for me."
Brandon Maxwell, who created Gaga's reveal, helped her navigate the stairs at the Met as she posed with several helpers. Maxwell undressed her further, revealing a black strapless asymmetrical ballgown underneath with a huge side bustle. Then she undressed again to show off a pink dress reminiscent of Marilyn Monroe in "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes," walking up and down the carpet.
But she wasn't done. Moments later, she undressed again to pose in a glittering bra and panties set, with huge platform shoes. Gaga is a hard act to follow but Serena Williams, one of her co-hosts, did her best in a neon yellow flowing gown adorned with leaves, Nike sneakers on her feet.
This year's gala theme, "Camp: Notes on Fashion," was inspired by a seminal 1964 essay by Susan Sontag in which she describes the phenomenon as something that shan't be talked about: "To talk about Camp is therefore to betray it."
The theme is the basis for the Costume Institute's spring exhibition.
Karlie Kloss showed off her signature long legs in a gold miniskirt and singer Anderson. Paak wore Gucci. Haddish, in a black and silver pantsuit, a glitzy hat on her head, said she vowed not to go snackless this year, hence the fried chicken.
"I bring my own snacks because last year I was starving and I learned my lesson," she said. Of the theme, she declared: "Camping means no panties!"
Lena Dunham, meanwhile, wore a pink minidress emblazoned with "rubberist." Harry Styles arrived in a black jumpsuit with see-through sleeves, one earring, black nails and heeled booties. Kacey Musgraves was a proper pink Barbie with platinum hair and Gigi Hadid looked like a silver cat woman in a swirl-pattern jumpsuit, long coat and helmet-like hat.
Awkwafina breezed through in trophy gold, accompanied by designer Joseph Altuzarra, while others in garish greens, animal prints and metallics soaked up the theme. Some played it safe in more traditional carpet looks, like Hailey Bieber in a lovely, tight pink dress with a daring — but not terribly campy — low back.
Naomi Campbell also wore pink with a long feathered cape, lace leggings and low barely there neckline. And Joan Collins, perhaps the queen of camp, posed with her in a white puffy gown reminiscent of Scarlet O'Hara.
The worlds of fashion, film, music and sports converge at the massive gala every year, a fundraiser for the museum's Costume Institute.
--AP