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Sep 14, 2021 - Politics & Policy

AOC and Carolyn Maloney use Met Gala to send a political message

Rebecca Falconer
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez attends The 2021 Met Gala Celebrating In America: A Lexicon Of Fashion at Metropolitan Museum of Art on September 13, 2021 in New York City.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez attends the 2021 Met Gala on Monday in New York City. Photo: Mike Coppola/Getty Images

New York City's Met Gala returned on Monday night, with Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Carolyn Maloney among the attendees marking the comeback of the pandemic-delayed, star-studded fashion event with striking political statements.

The big picture: Ocasio-Cortez displayed the slogan "tax the rich" on the back of her white dress by Brother Vellies. Fellow Democratic New York lawmaker Carolyn Maloney wore a gown displaying the purple, white and gold colors of the suffrage movement, with sashes stating "equal rights for women."

Rep. Carolyn Maloney wears a gown displaying the purple, white and gold colors of the suffrage movement, with sashes stating "equal rights for women" at NYC's Met Gala on Monday.
Rep. Carolyn Maloney dressed in her Met Gala gown at the event in New York City on Monday. Photo: Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images
  • Ocasio-Cortez said her gown was about "having a real conversation about fairness and equity in our system, and I think this conversation is particularly relevant as we debate ... the budget and reconciliation bill," per AP.
  • Filmmaker Ava DuVernay told AP her Prada black gown "interpreted American independence, which is the theme," as a celebration of Black excellence.
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