Met Gala vs. Vatican Conclave: Who Won the Internet War of 2025?
In a strange twist of fate, two of the most visually symbolic global spectacles—the Met Gala and the Vatican Conclave—unfolded within the same week. One promised fashion’s biggest night. The other delivered the surprise plot twist of the year. What followed was peak internet culture: memes, edits, aesthetic takes, and discourse galore that felt like a competition between the loudest voices. But the most interesting part was that it also raised questions—about taste, tradition, performativity, intellectual and historical context, and how the internet decides whose story takes the spotlight. But in the end, why does it all matter?
THE MET GALA 2025 AND THE MISSED OPPORTUNITY
This year’s Met Gala theme, Superfine: Tailoring Black Style, was one of the strongest cultural moments the event has ever offered. The exhibition, centered around Black dandyism and the long and historical legacy of tailored self-expression, was an invitation (if not a responsibility) for attendees to honor with a very specific visual and political lineage. And yet… most didn’t.
Yes, there were some plain-yogurt gowns. No, the exhibit by Monica L. Miller doesn’t feature gowns, and it focuses fundamentally on menswear—something the Met hadn’t done since 2003
The Met Gala, by design, is a creative collaboration between celebrity, stylist, brand, and narrative. But when the theme involves a movement as historically and politically layered as Black dandyism, tailoring shouldn’t just be considered a cut, but more like a code. The style should be seen as resistance, elegance, and a statement. And this year, the code, which, as you see, was as easy to summarize in a paragraph, was lost in translation for many.
The first claim was a noticeable lack of emerging Black designers on the carpet. Sadly understandable, maybe, if you consider the cost and logistical nightmare of dressing a celebrity for the Met. According to an article by The Cut, “for independent designers, the cost of creating a single custom look can range from $5,000 to more than $10,000—and that’s just for the clothes”. And here’s also another catch: most celebrities expect to pay zero for their red carpet looks, which means that the entire cost of a garment and the logistics of making a red carpet moment happen are financially attributed to the designers. That’s a lot of effort, time, and money for just a few minutes of visibility, so if you try to put yourself in their shoes, is it really worth it? Let’s reframe the claim:
What if the bigger fashion houses had opened their ateliers to collaborate with new names? We saw some white-led brands dominate the carpet, such as Thom Browne. He is a genius in tailoring and one of the most influential figures of American fashion design out there, so why didn’t he decide to collaborate this time with a black emerging designer who needed the visibility? That would’ve been a moment.
What if the stylists had done the actual reading about the cultural significance of this year’s theme? Maybe they would’ve convinced celebrities to sponsor black emerging designers for their looks and support the logistics for bringing their designs to the carpet.
The real problem here wasn’t just a few missed dress codes. It’s a question of how we show up for the stories we claim to celebrate—and who gets the mic when fashion tries to say something bigger than itself.
WHEN THE CONCLAVE WENT VIRAL (AND WHY IT MAKES SENSE)
Then, almost immediately after the Met, came a plot twist from the Vatican.
The Conclave became the internet’s new obsession. TikTok users adopted “Conclave-core” aesthetics. Edits of cardinals walking through the Sistine Chapel circulated like runway footage. And Pope Francis—dubbed 'the diva Pope' and celebrated even in death—joined the digital pantheon of camp icons (may he rest in peace). People started following the conclave and its “contestants” as it was a live reality show.
Videos by @heartthrobert and @_veritas.eclissiae
It might sound absurd, but it also makes perfect sense: this was the first conclave of the TikTok era. And in a world where institutions feel increasingly hollow and increasingly irrational, especially when it comes to what some politicians say or do these days, the Vatican's old-school rituals hit a weirdly fresh nerve. Maybe because, unlike governments and brands, they commit to their actual jobs. No irony. No PR language. Just white smoke, robes, silence, tradition, and red—so much cardinal red.
This is not about sudden mass conversions into Catholicism. It’s about how the internet repurposes symbols of power to make sense of the moment. And our generation is craving sincerity. We’re craving ritual and perhaps just a little peace amid all the horrors we witness daily (everything has become that overwhelming). We’re craving something that doesn’t feel like it’s trying to sell us a serum or a false idea that “things will get better” when we watch another group of people unjustly die in Gaza. The Conclave, of all things, gave us that moment of realness and reliability.
RED, REVERENCE, AND REINVENTION
So what do the Met Gala and the Conclave actually have in common? They're both rituals of image-making. Both are loaded with meaning. Both, in some way, performances of power—whether ecclesiastical or aesthetic. But where one faltered in translating its message, the other went viral precisely because it stuck to its script. There’s something to be said for tradition when it’s treated as sacred (literally or not). And there’s something to be said for reinvention when it respects the story it's borrowing from.
The Met Gala had a chance to spotlight the radical elegance of Black tailoring and give new designers a global platform. The Conclave, accidentally, reminded us that pageantry still works—if it knows what it’s for.
We’re living in a cultural moment where everything is content, but not everything hits. The Met Gala had the content, but missed the message. The Conclave had the message and became content without even trying.
In the end, maybe the real winner of last week’s double feature was us—because we got to see the internet do what it does best: remix power, play with symbols, and reveal what we’re really craving in a world that feels more artificial by the scroll.
Oh—and yes, cardinal red is officially the color of the season.
FINAL TIP: Don’t Just Watch. Support Black Talent:
AGBOBLY
Ahluwalia
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