What He Wore: In 2021, the lithe Australian singer Troye Sivan dipped his toe into the art of art historical references at the Met Gala, at the time explaining that he was inspired by New York, which to him meant black and white, leather, and Robert Mapplethorpe. That year Sivan showed up in a black slip dress, Cartier jewels, platform heels, and a leather bicep strap. Five years later, Sivan took his Mapplethorpe homage all the way, from the floppy, tousled hair to the skinny black tie to the bleach-stained jeans (yes, jeans, at the Met Gala) to the long, loose coat.
Mapplethorpe was known for his black-and-white portraits—of his friends, fellow artists, celebrities, and himself—as well as racier fare shot at BDSM clubs and still lifes of flowers. His career ended early, when he died of AIDS-related causes in 1989. “I thought so much about the artists that we lost to AIDS, and what a time that must have been to be in this city and to be an artist in this city, and how impactful the work was and forever will be,” Sivan said of the lost generation of queer artists he continues to draw inspiration from.
Our Verdict: This look is so faithful, it’s almost like a paparazzi shot from a biopic starring Sivan as Mapplethorpe. (Albeit a biopic with a sky-high wardrobe budget.) Sivan’s adulation of 1970s and ‘80s queer New York is genuine, but this one is a little on the nose. Also, it’s jarring to see jeans at the Met Gala—even if they are Prada.
A visitor admiring at a self-portrait of Robert Mapplethorpe in the exhibition “Implicit Tensions: Mapplethorpe Now” at the Guggenheim Museum, New York, 2020.
Photo Johannes Schmitt-Tegge/picture alliance via Getty Images
