The Psychology of The Met Gala

Every year, on the first Monday of May, something extraordinary happens. 450 of the world's most powerful, most beautiful, most photographed people climb a set of steps in Manhattan — and the internet collectively loses it’s mind.

The Met Gala is billed as an exclusive charity fundraiser where tickets cost seventy-five thousand dollars. And yet somehow, it reaches billions of people sat at home in their tracksuits, who have never been within a mile of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

So, what’s going on? What does fashion communicate? Why do we feel so entitled to judge a celebs outfit? Why does a look that ‘understood the assignment’ give us a little hit of dopamine, while one that ‘played it safe’ feels like a personal disappointment?

With me to discuss the psychology of the Met Gala and fashion is Professor Carolyn Mair, a cognitive psychologist and author of The Psychology of Fashion.

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You can buy Carolyn's book, The Psychology of Fashion here >> https://www.routledge.com/The-Psychology-of-Fashion/Mair/p/book/9781032712529

And follow Carolyn on Instagram here >>  https://www.instagram.com/psychologyforfashion/

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