Met Gala 2021: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in Brother Vellies by Aurora James

Posted on September 14, 2021

Pin

One thing you can definitely say about Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is that she walks the walk. Given a $35,000 ticket (as many New York politicians have received over the years) to the Met Gala, she got to work making sure her red carpet appearance wasn’t just another fashion parade.

 

 

Pin

Pin

Pin

Pin

Pin

Now, you could say that wearing a “TAX THE RICH” gown at such a high-dollar event is a little questionable as a message. And of course, right now her detractors are tearing it up on social and conservative media, trying to find a reason to accuse her of some sort of woke hypocrisy. But the Met Gala is a charity event and the money spent on her ticket goes directly to the Costume Institute, a New York cultural institution of long standing. Countless New York elected officials have attended over the years. There simply isn’t any reason to criticize her for attending. Not any fair ones, anyway.

As she noted on her socials, her dress was designed by Aurora James of the Brooklyn-based fashion brand Brother Vellies:

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@aoc)

 

 

What most notable about this collaboration is that James is also the founder of the 15 Percent Pledge, a movement designed to encourage retailers to devote 15 percent of their shelf space to Black-owned brands. We don’t love formalwear with literal messages written on it, but everything about this look, from the message to the designer to the brand and the wearer, makes it one of the most thought-out and consistent looks of the night.

And if you think the message is an odd one to sport while mingling with the wealthy, who do you think needs to hear that message most?

 

Style Credits:
Brother Vellis White Off-the-shoulder Dress

SAtyled by Aurora James | Hair by Eric Williams | Makeup by Cassandra Garcia

 

[Photo Credit: Janet Mayer/Startraksphoto.com, Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue, Kevin Mazur/MG21/Getty Images For The Met Museum/Vogue, Jun Lu]

Please review our Community Guidelines before posting a comment. Thank you!

blog comments powered by Disqus