Ok-pop icon Lisa of Blackpink grew to become the topic of controversy throughout the Met Gala final evening, Could 5, after netizens incorrectly claimed that she wore an outfit displaying a picture of Civil Rights activist Rosa Parks throughout the crotch. There have been certainly dozens of faces embroidered throughout her translucent black-lace jacket and strapless bodysuit from Louis Vuitton (LV) — however these likenesses have been all created by modern artist Henry Taylor, and Rosa Parks was not amongst them.
Set up view of Henry Taylor: B Facet on the Whitney Museum of American Artwork (picture Hrag Vartanian/Hyperallergic)
Taylor had collaborated with Met Gala Co-Chair Pharrell Williams in 2023 for the latter’s debut assortment upon his appointment as LV’s inventive director for menswear. The artist offered the style home with samples of his present portraiture, which in flip transformed them into micro-embroidered gildings that appeared on a few of Pharrell’s assortment seems. Taylor additionally painted Pharrell’s portrait for the quilt of Vogue’s Could challenge.
Taylor additionally attended final evening’s Met Gala, which was themed “Tailored For You” to have fun the Superfine: Tailoring Black Fashion exhibition. He was styled by Pharrell, and wore a white button-down that includes his personal embroidered portraits.
Henry Taylor on the Met Gala on Could 5, 2025, carrying a shirt printed together with his portraits (picture by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Photos)
Pharrell additionally styled Lisa for the gala, together with rising popstar Sabrina Carpenter, Grammy-winning breakout rapper Doechii, and actor Jeremy Allen White. Lisa’s customized look deployed the identical portraits included in Pharrell’s debut assortment, besides they have been introduced as black outlines somewhat than colourful embroidery.
This controversy comes months after alleged movies of Lisa and different members of Blackpink reciting the N-word whereas singing alongside to a number of songs throughout their coaching days have been leaked and shared throughout social media, including gas to the current hearth. The group has not issued an official assertion in regards to the controversy.
Rhea Nayyar (she/her) is a New York Metropolis-based workers reporter at Hyperallergic. She obtained a BFA from Carnegie Mellon College and has a ardour for small-scale artworks, elevating minority views,…
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