Dan Levy’s Queer-Themed Outfit At The 2021 Met Gala Is Turning A Lot Of Heads

There was no Met Gala last year. The pandemic was still relatively new in the United States, and when the annual fashion/social extravaganza was scheduled, in early May, as it had been since 2001, New York City was still very much shut down. So we’re getting two galas in less than a year, and the first since 2019. The first went down on Monday, and its super-famous attendees — who can always be relied on to go big — brought it. But maybe Dan Levy brought it more than everyone else.

— Variety (@Variety) September 13, 2021

The theme this year was “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion,” and, as always, people interpreted how they wished. For the Schitt’s Creek star, that meant a real eye-turner: an over-sized long-sleeved shirt with gigantic shoulders and sleeves. A global map took up most of the acreage, with America depicted in the shape of two people of the same gender in a passionate embrace.

Levy discussed the outfit with Vanity Fair, saying his collaboration with Loewe’s Jonathan Anderson, who took inspiration from American artist and AIDS activist David Wojnarowicz:

Adapting two of Wojnarowicz’s famed works, F*ck You F–got F*cker, 1984, and Untitled (One Day This Kid…), 1990–91, for Levy’s Met gala look, the actor said he and Anderson wanted to reflect the artist’s themes of celebrating “queer love and queer visibility” while also sending a reminder that “there’s a lot more that needs to be done.”

The Met Gala is nothing without attention-grabbing outfits, and people were quick to single out Levy. Some thought he, as they say, understood the assignment.

— ilana kaplan (@lanikaps) September 13, 2021

Dan Levy understood the assignment #MetGala2021 pic.twitter.com/CVcExlcw2T

— carlotta (@tightgripp) September 13, 2021

Others praised the message.

— Vanessa Friedman (@VVFriedman) September 13, 2021

Others caught the reference to Wojnarowicz’s work.

— Tom and Lorenzo (@tomandlorenzo) September 13, 2021

Some found it over-the-top, which is why they loved it.