The Met Gala is fast-approaching, and while anticipation builds for fashion’s biggest event of the year, actor Ezra Miller has joined forces with dancer, singer-songwriter and actor Keiynan Lonsdale to give fans a flavour of the theme. The talented duo have posed in a series of photographs for American Vogue in line with the event’s “Camp: Notes on Fashion” theme, which was inspired by Susan Sontag’s seminal 1964 essay, Notes on Camp, and marks the opening of the accompanying exhibition at the Costume Institute at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. While definitions of camp vary in popular culture, Sontag described the concept as “love of the unnatural”, calling it “style at the expense of content”. The American writer saw camp in everything from Flash Gordon comics to chinoiserie. In the Vogue images, taken by Ethan James Green for the magazine’s May issue, Miller and Lonsdale don a series of flamboyant ensembles in a bid to champion the playful and avant-garde roots of Sontag’s camp. Best Met Gala Dresses Of All Time Show all 26 1 /26 Best Met Gala Dresses Of All Time Best Met Gala Dresses Of All Time Diana Vreeland, 1981 The legendary former Vogue editor attends the Met Gala in a black polka dot gown. Rex Features Best Met Gala Dresses Of All Time Bianca Jagger, 1993 Celebrating the 'Diana Vreeland: Immoderate Style' exhibition. Rex Features Best Met Gala Dresses Of All Time Naomi Campbell, 1995 The model attended with Francesco Scavullo to celebrate the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute's 'Teatre de la Mode' exhibition. Rex Features Best Met Gala Dresses Of All Time Iman, 2003 The Somali-American model attended with husband David Bowie. Rex Features Best Met Gala Dresses Of All Time Nicole Kidman, 2003 The Australian actress wore Gucci to the Gala, which she attended with actor Adrien Brody. Rex Features Best Met Gala Dresses Of All Time Anna Wintour, 2003 The American Vogue editor arrived for the celebrations with Tom Ford. Rex Features Best Met Gala Dresses Of All Time Scarlett Johansson, 2004 The actress wore Calvin Klein. Rex Features Best Met Gala Dresses Of All Time Sarah Jessica Parker, 2006 The Sex and the City star attended with Alexander McQueen, wearing one of his iconic heritage check designs. Rex Features Best Met Gala Dresses Of All Time Elizabeth Hurley, 2006 The British actress wore Elie Saab couture. Rex Features Best Met Gala Dresses Of All Time Kate Bosworth, 2007 The actress wore Prada. Rex Features Best Met Gala Dresses Of All Time Cameron Diaz, 2007 The actress wore Dior by John Galliano. Rex Features Best Met Gala Dresses Of All Time Victoria Beckham, 2008 The fashion designer opted for a vintage Giorgio Armani gown while David Beckham wore an Armani tuxedo. Rex Features Best Met Gala Dresses Of All Time Kate Hudson, 2009 The Hollywood actress wore Stella McCartney. Rex Features Best Met Gala Dresses Of All Time Kate Moss, 2009 The British icon attended with Marc Jacobs, donning one of his metallic designs. Rex Features Best Met Gala Dresses Of All Time Alexa Chung, 2010 The TV presenter and model wore an androgynous suit by Philip Lim. Rex Features Best Met Gala Dresses Of All Time Taylor Swift, 2010 The singer donned a sequinned white gown by Badgley Mischka. Rex Features Best Met Gala Dresses Of All Time Sienna Miller, 2010 The British actress attended with boyfriend at the time, Jude Law, wearing a navy Pucci gown. Rex Features Best Met Gala Dresses Of All Time Diane Kruger, 2010 The actress wore Calvin Klein. Rex Features Best Met Gala Dresses Of All Time Kendall Jenner, 2014 The reality TV star made her Met Gala debut in a bespoke Topshop gown. Rex Features Best Met Gala Dresses Of All Time Cara Delevingne, Rihanna, Stella McCartney, Kate Bosworth and Reese Witherspoon, 2014 The five beauties all wore gowns by Stella McCartney. Rex Features Best Met Gala Dresses Of All Time Miley Cyrus and Zoe Kravitz, 2015 For the opening of the China: Through the Looking Glass exhibition, which was the subject of the documentary The First Monday in May, the two US starlets both donned gowns by Alexander Wang. Rex Features Best Met Gala Dresses Of All Time Beyoncé, 2015 The singer sparkled in a sheer Givenchy gown. Rex Features Best Met Gala Dresses Of All Time Kim Kardashian West, 2015 Arriving with husband Kanye, the reality TV star wore a gown by Roberto Cavalli. Rex Features Best Met Gala Dresses Of All Time Lady Gaga, 2015 The 'Joanne' singer wore Balenciaga. Rex Features Best Met Gala Dresses Of All Time Gigi Hadid The model wore a gown designed by Tommy Hilfiger. Rex Features Best Met Gala Dresses Of All Time Rihanna, 2017 The singer wore Comme des Garçons. Rex Features Lonsdale is pictured in various ensembles, including a bubblegum pink 18th century-style gown by Vivienne Westwood and a black trompe l’oeil gown designed in the style of a tuxedo by Thom Brown. Meanwhile, Miller poses in a white lace wedding gown-inspired look, also by Thom Brown. In one image, the two are seen leaning in for a kiss like newlyweds. Speaking about the theme, Lonsdale told Vogue: “It’s so easy to play it safe, but that’s not camp.” Miller added: “Everything flips upside down in this theatre of high drama.” The photographs have been widely shared on Twitter, with many expressing excitement for the upcoming gala that sees the most famous faces in fashion, film, music and art come together for an unrivalled sartorial spectacle. This year, the Met Gala will be hosted by Lady Gaga, Harry Styles and Serena Williams along with Gucci’s creative director Alessandro Michele and, as usual, AmericanVogue’s editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour. The event takes place on Monday 6 May.<doc-sep>Ahead of the MET Gala, queer actors Ezra Miller and Keiynan Lonsdale have posed in glorious gowns and fabulous dresses in a new Vogue shoot. The theme for this years Met Gala is "Camp: Notes on Fashion", which will take place from May 6 through September 8 at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. The photoshoot, published on Tuesday, shows the two actors dripping camp magnificence in contrasting black-and-white outfits. The high-drama photoshoot is a treat for the eyes as it fuses the seemingly unnatural with the mainstream. According to Vogue, Andrew Bolton, Wendy Yu Curator in Charge of the Costume Institute, has framed the exhibition around Susan Sontag’s crucial 1964 essay 'Notes on "Camp,"' which asserted different ways in which the concept could be interpreted. Bolton explains that he found Sontag’s writings -- in a nutshell, she argued that camp is the “love of the unnatural: of artifice and exaggeration . . . style at the expense of content . . . the triumph of the epicene style” -- so timely with what we are going through culturally and politically that, “I felt it would have a lot of cultural resonance.” Camp's relevance in today's age is explained by Bolton himself as he says that the theme perfectly matches the current socio-political environment. "We are going through an extreme camp moment, and it felt very relevant to the cultural conversation to look at what is often dismissed as empty frivolity but can be actually a very sophisticated and powerful political tool, especially for marginalised cultures," he was quoted saying in The New York Times, adding "Whether it's pop camp, queer camp, high camp or political camp - Trump is a very camp figure - I think it's very timely." The camp shoot has brought upon itself praise and criticism alike. Reddit user "_Have-a_nice-day_" laments the use of certain terminology when referring to camp. They told MEA WorldWide, "The use of 'strange', 'unnatural', 'exaggerated', 'worn in the wrong way' feels so homophobic from outside the fashion culture. I get that they [people] are talking about clothes that are all those things, so I'm not crying wolf here. But it's odd when they say 'camp is...'" Though they admit that representation of the queer and drag community along these lines proves well for normalization. Many even deem this as a step in the right direction. "Normalising queerness is essential to representation. Even if it’s just a style of clothes it still steps over the line society has drawn dividing “feminine” and “masculine”. To have it represented in such a way that feels flawless (as though they weren’t trying to shoehorn in representation) and inclusive of all people is really a good step in the right direction," Reddit user "Lemons-are-evil" tells MEAWW. But Dr Angela Jones, Assistant Professor of Sociology at Farmingdale State College, who is an author, and teaches and conducts research in subjects such as African-American history, gender, and the gay community, has reservations about the campaign. "Some people might read the new camp Vogue photo shoot for the Met's spring exhibit as a celebration of queer culture. The spread features cisgender male actors Keiynan Lonsdale and Ezra Miller in gorgeous dresses. Given that Lonsdale has said that he is attracted to people regardless of gender, and Miller identifies as queer, at first glance, this campaign does not necessarily feel like the usual media appropriation of queer culture," she tells MEAWW. She brings to point how earlier this year in March, 'Pose' star Billy Porter donned a Christian Siriano Tuxedo Gown to the 91st Oscars. "So, is this move by Vogue motivated by a desire to celebrate queer cultures or capitalize on a particular cultural moment? In many ways, any increased visibility of queer culture is positive for queer representation, but before we rush to celebrate, we should think about who we should be congratulating - in this case, Vogue or the people in actual queer communities who pioneered camp and drag?" Billy Porter attends the 91st Annual Academy Awards at Hollywood and Highland on February 24, 2019 in Hollywood, California. (Getty Images) We think it is a mix of both: over the years, every time one does something gender-bending, it bodes well for the queer community.<doc-sep>Along with the announcement, the magazine published a number of photos showing off some campy pieces from the collection with the help of Lonsdale, Miller and model Edie Campbell. In one photo, Miller and Lonsdale face one another, each wearing their own Thom Browne dress looks. In another photo, Lonsdale stuns with his take on camp in a pink 18-century robe à la française. “It’s so easy to play it safe,” Lonsdale said. “But that’s not camp.” The exhibit will also provide the theme for this year’s annual Met Gala, which is co-chaired by Lady Gaga, Harry Styles, Serena Williams, Anna Wintour and Gucci creative director Alessandro Michele. “I’m still kind of camp,” Michele said. “I adore putting on something strange and exaggerated and worn in the wrong way. I mean, why not? It’s not forbidden." Check out the photos of Lonsdale and Miller for The Met’s “Camp: Notes on Fashion” exhibit below.<doc-sep>
Ezra Miller and Kieynan Lonsdale (Getty) Queer actors Ezra Miller and Keiynan Lonsdale are posing in dresses in a new Vogue shoot ahead of the Met Gala. The Fantastic Beasts and Love, Simon stars are showing everyone how it’s done ahead of the “Camp: Notes on Fashion” themed Met Gala, which takes place at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 6. In the Vogue shoot published on Tuesday, the two actors are serving camp opulence in contrasting black-and-white outfits. Ezra Miller and Keiynan Lonsdale adopt ‘high drama’ looks Lonsdale donned a black tuxedo-style “trompe l’oeil dress by Thom Browne”, posing seductively opposite Ezra Miller in a white lace gown. Miller told the magazine: “Everything flips upside down in this theatre of high drama.” Out actor Keiynan Lonsdale also channelled Marie Antoinette for a second camp look, wearing a pink “18th-century robe à la française–inspired dress by Vivienne Westwood.” Lonsdale said: “It’s so easy to play it safe, but that’s not camp.” Called my mum up and said “I’MA BE IN VOGUE!!!”.. Life man thank you with all my heart @voguemagazine pic.twitter.com/m8BYdIEH1f — Keiynan Lonsdale (@KeiynanLonsdale) April 16, 2019 Vogue explained that the looks were inspired by “the camp notion of being serious about the frivolous.” Of course, Ezra Miller doesn’t need an official camp theme to pull off eye-catching queer runway looks, with the actor regularly grabbing attention at film premieres with high-fashion looks. Met Gala theme 2019: Event could be gayest yet The Metropolitan Museum of Art announced the camp theme in October—a reference to American author’s Susan Sontag’s 58-page essay Notes on ‘Camp,’ published in 1964. The gala will be chaired as usual by Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, who will be joined by singer Harry Styles, performer Lady Gaga and tennis champion Serena Williams as co-chairs. Costume Institute curator Andrew Bolton said the theme perfectly match the current socio-political moment. “We are going through an extreme camp moment, and it felt very relevant to the cultural conversation to look at what is often dismissed as empty frivolity but can be actually a very sophisticated and powerful political tool, especially for marginalised cultures,” he said, quoted in the New York Times. “Whether it’s pop camp, queer camp, high camp or political camp—Trump is a very camp figure—I think it’s very timely,” he added.