Fears of a TikTok Takeover of the Met Gala Were Overblown, But Influencers Did Show Up
Every year at the Met Gala, the carpeted steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art are covered in the heeled feet of famous celebs, from the top of the A-List, to budding stars on the scene. This year, though, there may have be a few more faces you don’t recognize. The Met Gala is being infiltrated by TikTokers, and YouTubers alike, and they rubbed elbows with the Kim Kardashian, JLo, and Anna Wintour herself. Though, there certainly weren’t as many as Twitter buzz had suggested (or in some case feared). We guess Noah Beck’s invitation got lost in the mail.
Still, some of us may be wondering who are these young celebs actually are, and how did they end up on fashion’s biggest red carpet? Here’s what you need to know about all the social media stars at the 2021.
Addison Rae
One of the biggest names to come out of TikTok, Addison Rae, made headlines recently for signing a multi-picture deal with Netflix following her acting debut in last month’s She’s All That, a gender-swapped remake, of the He’s All That.
Rae originally broke into the scene as part of the TikTok Hype House when it was created in December 2019. The concept of the content group was to bring teens with large followings together, in order to foster collaboration and creativity. These days, Rae is no longer affiliated with the house as she is currently focusing on a career in movies, as well as music. So far, the 20-year-old has released one single, “Obsessed.” Rae has also made headlines for some of her vintage looks, styled by Law Roach (tonight she is wearing vintage Gucci by Tom Ford), as well as her close relationship with Kourtney Kardashian, despite their 22-year age gap.
Dixie D’Amelio
Dixie D’Amelio became popular on TikTok alongside her younger sister, Charli, the most followed person on the app with 124.4 million followers. Like Addison, the D’Amelios are former members of the Hype House, having left the group in May 2020. D’Amelio—tonight in Valentino—has since has stepped back slightly from TikTok and recently began pursuing a career in music. She has already released a number of singles, including a track with One Direction’s Liam Horan.
You can watch Dixie and her sister Charli as they grapple with their quick rise to fame in their reality show, The D’Amelio show, which is currently on Hulu.
Emma Chamberlain in Louis Vuitton
Chamberlain is a 20-year-old YouTuber with over 10 million subscribers on the platform and 13.7 million on Instagram. Emma launched her YouTube channel in 2015 and quickly gained followers who liked her authentic style, weird editing technique, and thrifting hauls. Before long, Emma dropped out of high school to pursue vlogging full time. In the past few years, though, Emma has evolved into more than just a YouTuber, she is also the owner of her own coffee company, Chamberlain Coffee, and a partner with Louis Vuitton, explaining her choice of designer tonight.
“It’s a dream dress for me,” Emma told W Magazine. “I think this is what Nicolas [Ghesquière] does so well. He makes things edgy, but elegant at the same time and I feel like that is such a great representation of my style.”
Nikkie de Jager
Nikkie de Jager is a Dutch makeup artist, known for her makeup tutorials on her extremely popular YouTube channel, NikkieTutorials. Jager started her channel in 2008, when she was just 14, after being inspired by Lauren Conrad’s makeup on The Hills. Since then, Jager has amassed 13.8 million followers on her YouTube.
In January 2020, Jager shared a video on her channel titled, “I’m Coming Out,” in which she revealed that she is transgender. That video now has 37 million views. Her look at the Met paid homage to trans hero Marsha P. Johnson, who was known for the motto, “Pay it no mind.”
Madison Beer
Madison Beer is a 22-year-old singer and Internet personality. Beer, who wore a One/Of dress this evening, gained popularity when she was just 13 years old after Justin Bieber posted a video of her covering Etta James’ “At Last” to his followers. Not too long after, Bieber signed Beer to his label Island Records. Since then, Beer released one studio album, Life Support, in 2018 and multiple singles. She also has a strong presence on social media, with 27.5 million followers on Instagram.
Jackie Aina
The third YouTuber in attendance tonight, Jackie Aina, is a Nigerian-American beauty vlogger who has spent much of her career advocating for people of color in the beauty industry.
The 34-year-old launched her YouTube channel in 2009 and has since partnered with Anastasia Beverly Hills, e.l.f. Cosmetics, Too Faced, Sephora, and more. Jackie, who wore a Fe Noel gown to the Gala, currently has almost four million subscribers on her YouTube page, where she posts weekly.
Nicola Peltz and Brooklyn Beckham
As if the last name didn’t give it away, Brooklyn Beckham is none other than the oldest child of soccer legend, David Beckham, and girl group legend, Victoria Beckham. The 22-year-old has worn many hats over the years, including model and photographer, but recently he has been making headlines for his cooking videos on Instagram.
His fiancée, Nicola Peltz—who wore a Valentino dress tonight—is an actress best known for starring in the A&E show, Bates Motel. The pair announced their engagement in July 2020 with an Instagram post that has garnered over two million likes.
Eugene Lee Yang
Eugene Lee Yang is a YouTuber most known for his work with The Try Guys, a group of four men who try various challenges and trends from the Internet. Eugene was previously an employee at Buzzfeed, which is where The Try Guys originally formed in 2014. Then, in 2018, they left the media group to go off on their own. Since then, The Try Guys have expanded their brand and have gone on tour, written a book, and even hosted a show on Food Network.
Yang is also an LGBTQ+ activist and he often adopts the drag persona, Cheyenne Pepper. While Yang, previously referred to himself as queer, he came out as guy in a music video in June 2019. That video has over 19 million views.
