By: Haley Bosselman By: Haley Bosselman | September 13, 2021 | Culture, Style & Beauty, Events, fashion,
Amanda Gorman walks the 2021 Met Gala red carpet.
In true Amanda Gorman fashion, the poet graced her first Met Gala red carpet in a both thoughtful and stunning look. On the red carpet, she told Vogue live stream host Keke Palmer that she wanted to lean into the Statue of Liberty for inspiration.
“Fashion, just like poetry, just like writing, is its own form of language, its own form of rhetoric, so I try to use that as much to speak truth to power,” Gorman said. “So it's walking in my truth as a black woman, showing up, creatively, imaginatively and being fierce and unapologetic with what I wear.
Dripping in sparkles, the co-host of the event wore a royal blue Vera Wang gown with her hair pulled back in a flowing braid, pinned to the side with a silver laurel wreath emblematic of honor and victory.
“At the base of the Statue of Liberty, there’s actually a poem. And one of the lines is, ‘Give me your tired,” and I wanted to repurpose that for tonight. I wanted the energy and the spirit of my outfit to be about America welcoming the world,” Gorman explained.
Gorman captured the hearts of the nation earlier this year as the youngest inaugural poet in U.S. history. For President Joe Biden’s ceremony in January, she recited “The Hill We Climb.” Before catapulting into the spotlight, the cum laude graduate of Harvard University received a number of awards and recognitions from OZY Media, Scholastic Inc., YoungArts, Glamour magazine, College Women of the Year Awards and the Webby Awards. Four years ago, she served as Urban Word’s first-ever National Youth Poet Laureate.
Most recently, Gorman became the newest face of Estée Lauder. The 23-year-old had turned down a number of partnerships before teaming up with the beauty brand. As the company’s first Global Changemaker, she will bring her voice to Estée Lauder beginning next spring.
“I am honored to partner with The Estée Lauder Companies to activate change through literacy, and to represent a brand founded by such an inspiring and daring woman,” Gorman said of the collaboration.
Her debut children’s book, Change Sings, hits shelves this month and her new poetry collection, Call Us What We Carry, will release in December.
See also: Timothée Chalamet Hits the Met Gala Red Carpet in Haider Ackermann
Photography by: Theo Wargo/ Getty Images