Why does the Met Gala fail to represent the disabled community?
One of the biggest events in the fashion calendar, the Met Gala, still can’t get inclusivity right. After seeing the line-up of the 2022 gala the lack of disabled attendees is undeniable, alongside the suitable provisions in place to cater for the arrival of disabled visitors.
Watched globally and hosting some of the acclaimed names in popular culture, the gala is all about perception. It’s a place where celebrities boast their social power and industry clout by collaborating with the biggest designers the world has to offer. Spending months of deliberation to meet the predetermined annual theme, the short period of time they are seen walking down the iconic carpet tops the list of the most conversated looks of the year. Anybody who is ‘anybody’ is seen at the Met. Hosted and planned by Anna Wintour, after she gained control in 1988, the event is truly a spectacle and a testament to the designers of current times.
Why does the Met gala then fail to properly represent disability at its events? Everywhere you look nowadays, a more inclusive world for all is the end goal. Within industries across the world more is being done to create equal opportunity for minorities to have an improved quality of life. Even within the world of fashion there is a clear onus on better representation of people from all backgrounds. So why is the most esteemed event in fashion turning a blind eye. The lack of opportunity for people with disabilities at the met gala is astonishing. The event has always been Eurocentric in nature, giving the most coverage to white models, actors, and other various, non-important celebs. Since its creation in 1948 the event has evolved to some modern expectations and it isn’t uncommon to see racial minorities being represented in more recent galas, it seems that disability is where the line is drawn.
A highlight for the met gala when speaking on disabled inclusion was the appearance of Sinead Burke in 2019. Vogue dubbed it “ground-breaking”; a preferred word choice may be overdue. How up until 2019, not one little person was featured on the red carpet shows the met gala’s attitude towards the representation of disabled people. Ultimately every instance of disability being a focal point in global media will create positive shockwaves, however that doesn’t mean that enough is being done. In an interview with Vogue Burke commented, “growing up, I longed to witness someone like me on the livestream.” After a search around the internet, it is saddening to see that Sinead is somewhat of an anomaly, there is little to no evidence of other disabled guests posing on the iconic stairway.
Anna Wintour’s affiliation to both the Met Gala and Vogue is interesting. The infamous publication only speaks highly of the event. Seems like a coincidence. The lack of media pressure on the gala is surely a factor as to why change isn’t occurring. There seems to be somewhat of an acceptance that it’s the Met Gala, why do they have to adhere to fairness. Social pressure seems to evade the longstanding publication.
Through her blog, Jillian Ilana dissected looks from the 2021 gala. Giving her opinions on individual looks and the overall success of the event. Through her research, Ilana struggled to find examples of visibly disabled guests who were featured at the event. As someone with dwarfism, it hits home for Jillian, in her blog she wrote “all I could focus on was that I did not feel represented. I felt that, as a disabled woman, the fashion industry was saying those with a disability still do not fit in.” This thought process isn’t radical, the values being projected by the Met gala are the reason for this. Without fair representation occurring regularly how can people be confident that the met gala and its planners are considering the visibly disabled when arranging the event. Jillian mentioned how as a disabled person interested in the fashion world there has been progression in turns of inclusivity but then a major ceremony like the Met gala break that all down again. If the front runners of the industry aren’t leading by example and campaigning for real change, how can it expected that any systemic improvements will be made.
The very layout of the event limits the opportunity for disabled guests to take part. The stairs are a key feature of the Met Gala entrance, they have become truly iconic and feature in, most likely, thousands of social media posts. And although this mode of transport may be great for most of the guests at the gala, they are incredibly restrictive for a whole range of disabilities. It is literally impossible for a wheelchair user to attend the met gala, there is no way for them to get passed the press and into the actual gala. In September of 2021, British disabled gamer and advocate, Poppy Fields (@p0ppyfield) took to twitter, poking fun at the event with a customised self-portrait, ‘wheelchair friendly’ version of the Met Gala stairs. Captioning the bittersweet image with “I call this piece: If the Met Gala had ramps and didn’t exclude disabled people.” Even though the post is funny, it is a harsh reminder of the lack of access for wheelchair users in the fashion world.
The problems around the Met Gala are reverberated by the lack of coverage on the internet, searching around the internet there is a real lack of people speaking on the topic.
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Here’s a link to the original post: https://twitter.com/p0ppyfield/status/1437912750559318020
There needs to be a major adjustment when discussing the representation of disabled people at major events. A shift in attitude needs to happen sooner rather than later. A more impactful social revolution is necessary. Inspiration is a huge part of success, without role models the path to goals is immensely harder. Disabled communities need to see other disabled people excelling in competitive industries. Representation matters and we can never let the industry forget this.
