Actress Halle Berry played with the Met Gala’s theme of sartorial disguise on Monday in a body-hugging LaQuan Smith gown and a cropped tuxedo jacket, paired with a fishnet veil over her eyes. The look that required 1,455 hours to make featured a dipping neckline that showed off debut Cartier jewelry, according to British Vogue.
But it wasn’t the 31.69 carats of diamonds on her chest that caught the internet’s attention.
The sheer pattern of the gown shrouded the actress’ body just enough to suggest propriety while also giving a clear view at the borders of her lower region. The pubic cleavage, as it was deemed online, divided the internet, with some decrying the look as “tasteless,” “extremely risqué” or even “disgraceful.”
That Berry, 58, opted to show skin and received backlash speaks to the moment we are in, with increased tension over how women’s should be seen in public: daring or demure. Berry’s look is in sharp contrast to the increasingly popular trad wife aesthetic that emphasizes modest styles along with a return to traditional gender roles. Need proof? Look no further than the ubiquity of the buttery milkmaid dress (as seen on Kendall Jenner at Coachella).
Joel Moore-Hagan, a Brooklyn-based fashion creator, says it’s no surprise some people reacted harshly to Berry’s look. Black women experience a “double standard” in fashion, he said.
“They’re either hyper-scrutinized or ignored,” Moore-Hagan said. “If Halle’s look had been worn by someone like Kim Kardashian or Nicole Kidman, it might have been taken as ‘daring’ or ‘bold.’ But with Halle, people were in disbelief.”
Nothing about Berry’s look is safe, and many expressed discomfort over seeing a woman over 50 bearing her private areas on fashion’s biggest night. Berry’s detractors referenced her age in their criticisms. “Oh my God I just saw a picture of Halle Berry yeah she’s way too old to do that…” one tweeted.
“Halle Berry,” another user tweeted, “No amount of good acting can override the moment of this cringeworthy messy idea that exposing so much of one’s self is a fashion moment. It’s bottom feeding for attention… Sad your team said yes.”
“The idea is interesting, but not the execution,” a Redditor weighed in. “The jacket distracts and the dress didn’t need to show her groin. It’s just too obviously trying to be outrageous. Halle is classier than this.”
But female nudity has a “well-established association” with shock value on red carpets, said Joanne Entwistle, author of “Fashioned Body: Fashion and Dress in Modern Social Theory.”
“This sort of performance is gendered: women use outrageous outfits that reveal the body while [male] stars don’t,” Entwistle said. “There is a coding in dress, especially at big events, that sees men covered up and women exposing flesh.”
Berry wasn’t the only female attendee to draw attention to her lower region: Jenna Ortega’s gown of by Olivier Rousteing for Balmain revealed the outer edges of her nether area amid a web of metallic rulers; BLACKPINK’s Lisa strutted the blue carpet in Louis Vuitton underwear (that fans called out for seemingly featured the face of civil rights activist Rosa Parks); model Amelia Gray donned a blood-red Valentino lacy body suit with soft-toned panties layered underneath; Sabrina Carpenter wore a similar “espresso”-colored shape by Louis Vuitton, but sans the visible underwear and tights; Cynthia Erivo drew eyes to her upper thigh tattoos in a Givenchy skirt that gave away to a pair of boy short undies; And Aimee Lou Wood also offered some upper thigh real estate in a Ahluwalia ensemble.
The nudity below the belly button has been a trend for sometime, with pantless trends hitting fashion runways and red carpets (and no one can forget Bianca Censori’s naked dress at the Grammys).
But the frustration over Berry’s look says more about the fans than it does about the actress. If Berry’s dress really bothers you, it’s a good idea to ask yourself why.
“Does this have to do with my own personal experiences?” psychotherapist Stephanie Sarkis previously told USA TODAY. “What does this trigger in me, and do I need to take a look at possibly healing that?”
And keep in mind fashion has always reflected larger cultural and political trends, according to Lorynn Divita, a professor of apparel design and merchandising and the author of the book “Fashion Forecasting.” Some of the modest styles taking off as of late are likely connected to how women’s roles are changing, Divita previously told USA TODAY.
“The present is always changing − always − and fashion is very quick to respond to changes in taste that reflect modern life,” Divita says. “We are seeing this reflected at a time where women’s roles are − in some places − in a lot of flux, not in a way that we had even a couple of years ago.”
And it’s important to note that note everyone was upset by the look. Others celebrated Berry and called her look powerful.
Moore-Hagan said Berry looked original: “It was somewhat refreshing to see women embrace body suits and pantless dressing, especially during a time of the ‘tradwife’ surge where women are expected to button up and take on traditional gender roles.”
“Halle has still got it. She wants to put it out there? I say let her.” said one Reddit user. “Halle gets to wear what she wants and we can choose to appreciate this goddess or politely smile and say nothing.”
And, it seems that Berry is happy with her decision:
“I am so honored to have been a muse for @laquan_smith, who designed a gown that rose to meet the depth and strength of this year’s theme,” Berry wrote in an Instagram post on Monday. “To wear this gown was to feel powerful, purposeful and proud.”
Contributing: Charles Trepany
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Halle Berry’s dress at Met Gala made people furious. Why?
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