“Many things in the world have not been changed; and many things, even if they have been named, have never been described. One of these is the sensibility- unmistakably modern, a variant of sophistication but hardly identical with it- that goes now by the cult name of “camp,”” Susan Sontag wrote in her 1964 essay, Notes On “Camp.”
Now that all of you have had your share of laughter and memes based on celebrities sauntering around in hyper-exaggerated looks at the MET Gala this year, it is time that we try and learn a thing or two about this year’s theme i.e. Camp.
Like Sontag explains it, “Indeed the essence of Camp is its love of the unnatural: of artifice and exaggeration. And Camp is esoteric — something of a private code, a badge of identity even, among small urban cliques.”
Camp also asks a very important question, “Who is the bearer of this taste?” Simply said, who are you to judge what’s fashion and what’s not? Who are you to impose your ideas of “taste” on others?
However, having said that, while you don’t get to impose your ideas of taste and fashion, I am not saying that you are expected to entirely suppress the bewilderment that camp elicits in you. Like Sontag writes, “I am strongly drawn to camp, and almost as strongly offended by it.”
See, that’s the essence of Camp, beauty in its paradox. Camp “is not a natural mode of sensibility, if there be any such.” By establishing that it is not so, it certainly questions everything which is considered “natural” under the scanner. We need to understand that Camp has its roots in LGBTQ and queer cultures.
Sontag confirms it, “Indeed the essence of Camp is its love of unnatural: of artifice and exaggeration. Homosexuals, by and large, constitute the vanguard — and the most articulate audience — of Camp.”
Somehow, the camp has always been synonymous with the gay culture or the epicene, so much so that there was a time in the late nineties when the term was reduced to a “slur” to address the homosexual community. Also noteworthy is that fact that Sontag dedicated her essay to Oscar Wilde, the extremely gifted gay writer who was penalised and jailed owing to his sexual orientation.
Now be it the exaggerated fashion of drag artists or that touch of eccentric uniqueness in styling that is prevalent among gay folks, one thing is clear. More often than not, their style is directed towards disrupting the dominant narrative and everything that seems to do so is sure to be looked at with a certain hostility. The human love for the set ways of life and ideas is to be blamed here.
If you think about it, Camp seems more relevant than it has ever been. In today’s world of social media and AI, which give a platform to a multitude of voices to echo in their full rage, the entire ground of the dominant discourses already seems to be crumbling and that’s exactly where camp barges in.
A very easy way for you to understand Camp is to understand that it “is one way of seeing the world as an aesthetic phenomenon. That way, the way of Camp, is not in terms of beauty, but in terms of the degree of artifice, of stylization. Camp is a vision of the world in terms of style — but a particular kind of style. It is the love of the exaggerated, the “off,” of things-being-what-they-are-not.”
Having established the formal premises, how about we go through a few of the MET Gala looks to better understand the idea and also to find out who did it the best? Here we go:
“To perceive Camp in objects and persons is to understand Being-as-Playing-a-Role. It is the farthest extension, in sensibility, of the metaphor of life as theater.” Which basically means Camp lets you be anything, a bird, a burger, a chandelier, you say it and you can be it. Katy Perry shows you how:
63 Likes, 3 Comments – Daniel Zárate DaZaRod (@daniel._.zarate_universe) on Instagram: “@katyperry Te ilumino? Nadie brilla mas que yo Chandelier #meetgala2019 #katyperry…”
10 Likes, 0 Comments – KatyPerryGalaxy (@katyperrys2umbrellas) on Instagram: “Met Gala 2019 💛 #katyperryfans #katyperrymetgala2019 #katyperry”
And well the burger picture brings us to a very important point: “Pure Camp is always naive.” There, Sontag said it! And what our Piggy Chops has thus done is only an amazing personification of the very same aesthetic. Here is a picture of her with hubby dearest complementing her in the most Camp way:
23 Likes, 0 Comments – Urban Diary (@_urbandiary) on Instagram: “@priyankachopra and @nickjonas for #metgala2019 . . . . . #priyankachopra #priyankachoprajonas…”
“The hallmark of Camp is the spirit of extravagance. Camp is a woman walking around in a dress made of three million feathers.” Or even better Hamish Bowles doing it in the most nonchalant manner.
23.4k Likes, 838 Comments – Hamish Bowles (@hamishbowles) on Instagram: “The final reveal @metcostumeinstitute #CampNotesonFashion @jgalliano for @maisonmargiela Artisanal…”
Also, Billy Porter sure knows how to take it a step forward as he buries himself under gold feathers, three million gold tassels, and then gets carried around like an exaggerated picture of an Egyptian queen by men who are also dipped in gold. Camp and how!
201k Likes, 5,265 Comments – Billy Porter (@theebillyporter) on Instagram: “The Category Is: Old Testament Realness. Thank you @voguemagazine / @chrisjallaire for chatting…”
“Camp is art that proposes itself seriously, but cannot be taken altogether seriously because it is “too much.”” Now doesn’t that sound like a secret that Lady Gaga has known since forever?
But wait till you see Celine Dion, a perfect amalgamation on “exaggeration,” “extravagance,” and theatricality, the very basics of Camp.
249.7k Likes, 4,498 Comments – Céline Dion (@celinedion) on Instagram: “#MetGala #MetGala2019 #MetCamp ✨ . Glam: Styling: @p.e.p.e.munoz, @sydneylopez Hair:…”
24 Likes, 0 Comments – ken Loki (@hausofloki) on Instagram: “Happening right now! Lady Gaga hosting the Camp theme of the Met Gala 2019❤️ giving you campy…”
Pictures don’t even do proper justice to the Camp show that she put up at MET Gala this year and thus here’s a bonus video for you all:
18 Likes, 0 Comments – @saman1ha_ on Instagram: “Gaga served all the lewks at the Met Gala 😍🖤👑 The original “a pussy hoe could nevvaaa” 💃🏼 ✨…”
Lastly and most importantly, “Camp taste is a kind of love, love for human nature. It relishes, rather than judges, the little triumphs and awkward intensities of “character.” The ultimate Camp statement: it’s good because it’s awful.” Ezra Miller knows that the best in this androgynous look.
53 Likes, 0 Comments – Inspo/runway Shows/fashion (@fashset) on Instagram: “CAMP: notes on fashion. ——————— Ezra Miller wearing Burberry by Riccardo Tisci…”
Also, please don’t get a headache by looking at that picture for too long.