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Lindsay Dodgson
- A handful of influencers attended the Met Gala this year after weeks of rumors about the guest list.
- This year's theme was a celebration of American fashion.
- Here are the 7 influencers who attended, and the ones who were expected to but didn't.
Addison Rae wore a vintage Tom Ford for Gucci gown from 2003 to her first Met Gala.
Addison Rae Easterling, better known as Addison Rae, matched a red dress with a bright blond lob for her first Met Gala appearance, where the theme was "In America: A Lexicon of Fashion."
The TikToker, who has a following of over 84 million on the platform, has recently turned to acting. She has just starred in the Netflix movie "He's All That" — a gender-swapped remake of the noughties rom-com — and signed a multi-film contract with the company.
Rae, 20, kept quiet over whether she would be attending the event this year. She did not confirm or deny her invite when a fake seating chart swept across the internet in August, spurring memes and mockery.
"I'm shaking in my boots," Rae said on the red carpet. "I don't have boots on, but still."
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Emma Chamberlain was one of the first guests to arrive in a golden Louis Vuitton dress.
YouTube sensation Emma Chamberlain, 20, was also featured on the made-up seating chart. She grew her 10 million subscriber fanbase for her fashion looks, and it seems her style has brought her respect in the industry. She is the face of Louis Vuitton's 2021 Fall-Winter shoe collection, and has also modeled for Levi's.
Chamberlain was one of the first attendees to arrive at this year's Met Gala, wearing a golden Louis Vuitton dress and stilettos, with an emerald green 1960s inspired makeup look.
She shared a paparazzi photo of the event on her Instagram story, captioning it, "crying."
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Eugene Lee Yang's first outfit choice fell through at the last minute.
Eugene Lee Yang is one of the four members of YouTuber comedy group The Try Guys, but is also an actor, producer, author, director, and activist. He told Emma Chamberlain in a red carpet interview that he initially wanted to wear a dress, but it fell through three hours before the event.
"So, someone was my size, and I threw on this suit, here I am," he said.
He paired the black suit with a pair of hot pink heels and eyeshadow.
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NikkieTutorials' look was inspired by LGBTQ+ activist Marsha P. Johnson.
YouTuber Nikkie de Jager, better known to her fans as NikkieTutorials, is a successful beauty guru with over 13 million subscribers. Her teal, flower-adorned gown was inspired by the activist Marsha P. Johnson, she told Emma Chamberlain on the red carpet.
"She was at the forefront of the Stonewall Riots, and she was known for saying 'Pay it no mind.' So I'm not paying it any mind," de Jager said. "And she was known for flowers, so here I am."
De Jager, who is Dutch, has been uploading on YouTube since 2008. She came out as a transgender woman in an emotional video in January 2020.
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Jackie Aina's look was inspired by Barbie.
Jackie Aina, whose YouTube channel has 3.5 million subscribers and says she is "changing the standard of beauty, one video at a time," brought full Barbie pink glamour to the Met Gala this year.
"American fashion but make it BLACK BARBIE," she tweeted, showing her satin gown and platinum blonde wig.
Aina is currently producing a documentary called "Social Beauty," which follows several Black influencers who are trying to bring change and more inclusivity to the beauty industry.
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Dixie D'Amelio had everyone talking with her choice of headpiece.
Tiktok star Dixie D'Amelio made an entrance with her feathery black headpiece, which was the star in her otherwise understated Valentino look of a black mini-dress and white gloves, which channeled Audrey Hepburn.
D'Amelio, 20, and her sister Charli were both rumored to attend this year, but Charli, at 17 years old, is still too young — only people who are at least 18 are invited to the event. Both sisters rose to fame on TikTok, where Dixie has 55 million followers.
The sisters' new Hulu show, "The D'Amelio Show," premiered on September 3, giving their millions of fans a behind-the-scenes look at their daily lives.
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Musician Madison Beer started out on YouTube.
22-year-old musician Madison Beer showed up to the Met Gala in a long, emerald green mermaid dress by One/Of by Patricia Voto.
Beer, who is best known for her hits "Selfish" and "Dead," started out by recording song covers on YouTube in 2012.
Beer recently also attended the VMAs, where she wore Beyoncé's dress from 2003.
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James Charles and Liza Koshy didn't attend this year.
Despite representing the influencer world in 2019, there was no sight of YouTubers Liza Koshy or James Charles at the Met Gala this year.
A spoof Instagram page @_metgala2021 stirred rumors a few weeks ago that Charles and Koshy were on the guest list, along with several other influencers who did not end up being present: YouTubers Jeffree Star and Nikita Dragun, and TikTokers Noah Beck, Loren Gray, Bretman Rock, Bella Poarch, and Khaby Lame.
For more stories like this, check out coverage from Insider's Digital Culture team here.
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