Melissa Rivers thinks this year’s Met Gala dress code — “Tailored for You” — was hard for the ladies.
On the (well-fashioned) heels of the May 5 event, which focused on menswear and dandyism connected to the museum’s “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” exhibition, the Fashion Police alum shared her picks for best dressed with Yahoo Entertainment.
“It was really a year of honoring men, which I think is great. It was a tough year on the women,” said Rivers, who is producing the May 13 NBC special Joan Rivers: A Dead Funny All-Star Tribute in honor of her late mom, the comedian and red carpet trailblazer.
Nonetheless, she still hands out high marks to several women.
“I think the one that got the memo and got it right was Tracee Ellis Ross. Nailed it,” Rivers said. “She went with the time period, the suiting, the tailoring, but elevated it to a Met Gala level,” which she reminded is “not just another red carpet” but “high couture fashion runway as art.”
Others she felt understood the assignment and delivered were Janelle Monáe, Mindy Kaling and Rihanna, who she gave extra props for not just hitting the mark but doing so while pregnant.
“For a lot of the women, there was beautiful tailoring and beautiful suits,” Rivers said. “Otherwise, these women could have been on any red carpet in gorgeous suits.”
An example of that she gave was Zendaya, who wore a custom three-piece white Louis Vuitton suit. (We also gave the Euphoria star rave reviews.)
“Zendaya is always perfect,” Rivers said. “Between the talent, the face, the body, the style, everything. The suit was amazing. It fit impeccably. The hat was perfect. But we could have seen [that outfit] on any runway or any red carpet. That’s all of them.”
Rivers was “surprised by how few” women took the road of Christian Dior’s “New Look,” the designer’s iconic 1947 collection that revolutionized women’s fashion, “because that was simultaneous and about the tailoring as well.
“You saw Nicole Kidman do that,” Rivers said. “Monica Barbaro. Whitney Peak did a Chanel that was exactly on [point]” and took over 385 hours to craft.
Having revolutionized red carpets with her mother, Rivers knows “the Met Gala … is for professionals only.”
Rivers has “mixed feelings” about influencers who are now on the invite list for the exclusive event.
“The world is moving so fast, and these influencers are coming in and out of style so fast,” Rivers said. “I don’t know if they have a place on the Met Gala red carpet. I think there’s a level that you have to be so established or so important in that particular cultural moment that you can be there. … Just because you’re this year’s big influencer doesn’t, to me, give you the right to be at the Met Gala.”
That also extends to replacing established media outlets that have long covered the carpet.
Influencers “shouldn’t shut out the tried-and-true … outlets that are really here for the long run and have a proven track record in years of [covering] it just because you’re this year’s big influencer,” she said. “But they got it, so maybe I’m doing something wrong,” she laughed.
Rivers is also seasoned enough to know that “everything is timing … and right now is the time of the influencer.”
This year was also the time for men to shine at the gala, with the theme leaning in their favor. For the first time, the gala was cochaired by all Black men: A$AP Rocky, Pharrell Williams, Colman Domingo and Lewis Hamilton.
“The men had fun — and they all looked great,” Rivers said. “It’s time we let the men have a night anyway.”
Joan Rivers: A Dead Funny All-Star Tribute airs May 13 on NBC. An uncensored version streams the next day on Peacock.
