Issue 32.
Meh Gala: Is It Still in Vogue? Shallow Fashion Police, the ice bath trend is in hot water and Lucy Montgomery talks taste & her most toxic traits
Meh Gala: How Much Longer Will It Be in Vogue?
The Met Gala is starting to feel a little like saying your favourite TV show is Entourage: once a cultural status symbol, now vaguely embarrassing to admit out loud.
What was once the pinnacle of celebrity cool, cultural relevance and high fashion is at risk of becoming an annual Desperados Dinner & Dance in couture.
Never has the hype around the annual fundraiser for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute felt at such a low.
Usually, Met Monday means feverish guest-list speculation, outfit predictions and a morning dedicated to corneas destroyed by intensive phone scrolling.
This year, the discourse has been in a notably different direction.
Memes. Think pieces. Protestors. Alleged invite declines. Looming over it all is Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos, who reportedly coughed up close to $14 million for honorary chair titles and permanent residency in Anna’s iPhone favourites.
Even the algorithm seems over it, serving me archival Met photos from the 70s, 80s and 90s all week.
And while ‘Bezos Ball’ and ‘Tech Ball’ do roll beautifully off the tongue, the tech fraternity stinking up the red carpet with their spaceships and suits designed by Claude, feel more like a symptom of Met fatigue than the root cause.
Created in 1948 by American fashion publicist Eleanor Lambert, the Met Gala was originally a New York high society affair that cost $50 USD to attend and included dinner at midnight.
It gained a glamorous boost in the 1970s when revered US Vogue editor-in-chief Diana Vreeland became involved, opening the doors to celebrities, designers and tastemakers of the era and creating the template for a themed event.
Her guest list included Andy Warhol, Bianca Jagger and Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Cher, Diana Ross, Jack Nicholson and in 1976 and 1977, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis took on the role of co-chair.
Safe to say things have jumped the shark over the last fifty years.
The theme is now just background music. The goal is virality and outlandishness wins gold. We’re all just a bit bored.
We can point fingers at many culprits: Katy Perry turning up as a life-size hamburger or chandelier; Jared Leto proving he missed his calling on the Easter Show circuit by dressing as Choupette, Karl Lagerfeld’s cat; and self-serving attention-seeking behaviour dressed up as activism.
Even the guest list has become predictable: have a hit TV show, blow up on TikTok or make headlines and you can get your foot through the door.
Frankly, given the amount of airtime he’s been getting recently, I’m surprised Kyle Sandilands didn’t turn up on the steps of the Met in Balenciaga and a snapback cap.
Maybe the Met isn’t broken, it’s just met the moment.
Call me old-fashioned but I’m keen to see a return to a more regal, refined kind of glamour. Less tech bros, fewer attendees dressed like fast food and no one looking as though they’re headed to a Halloween ball.
Lord, hear my prayer!
Love it or hate it, we’ll still be watching next year.
For now.
Shallow Fashion Police
Yes, I know I didn’t exactly put my money where my mouth is this year when I shared a series of Instagram Stories on Tuesday morning with a red carpet Fashion Police special.
Red carpet events always remind me of one woman: Joan Rivers. The incomparable First Lady of fashion commentary and my all-time favourite comedian, whose biting wit is sorely missed.
You just know she would have had plenty to say about the Jeff Bezos contingent and their assorted tech affiliates.
In honour of Joan, I’m resharing a few of Tuesday’s most liked and engaged-with posts.
And if you’d like to follow my questionable social media strategy, you can find me here.
The Ice Bath Is in Hot Water
On Monday morning, I woke up feeling the pinch of a few too many drinks on the weekend and decided there was no way I could start the day unless I got played like the fool I am by paying $40 to purge my soul by basking in the heat of an infrared sauna roughly the size of Schapelle Corby’s Bali cell.
That’s when I noticed the ice bath in the corner was in darkness. Literally.
The staff had seemingly decided that turning the lights on around the plunge pool wasn’t even worth the effort of a finger flick.
Not long ago, these little tubs were working overtime in gyms and spas nationwide: servicing finance bros coming off five-day benders and filler-clad wellness influencers whose morning routine somehow always begins with a “quick 20-minute plungie before a matcha”.
Evidently, the ice bath has fallen out of favour in the wellness hierarchy in much the same way juice cleanses once did, making way for 2026’s latest vitality fix: the bathhouse.
As someone deeply predisposed to relaxation and any excuse to reward myself for putting one foot in front of another, this is a wellness trend I wholeheartedly support.
Even if soaking my cellulite in a calming body of water for 90 minutes achieves very little health wise, I’d still much rather indulge the supposed benefits of stress relief, muscle recovery and nervous system regulation than voluntarily submit to the icy violence of a steel tub.
From Sydney to Adelaide, bathhouses have popped up nationwide with such force over the past year they’re beginning to rival property developers’ new builds.
I can’t open my car door near a shopping centre in Sydney without being confronted by signage for a new wellness space “coming soon”.
Which makes sense when Australia’s health and wellness spa industry is now worth AUD $624 million: cost-of-living pressures may be biting, but these numbers prove that bathing is an essential need.
Sorry, Jim Chalmers.
Victoria’s Peninsula Hot Springs is the crown jewel of bathhouses. 90 minutes from Melbourne, it remains the gold standard of bath time: a sprawling wellness destination of thermal pools, spa treatments and overnight luxury accommodation that has sat firmly on my bucket list for years.
Self-indulgence wrapped up as self-care: finally, a wellness movement that understands me.
Long may this bath boom continue.
If good taste had a face, it would be Lucy Montgomery’s.
The Sydney-based director of her multidisciplinary design studio and former Interior Design Editor at Belle has built a reputation for spaces that feel timeless, refined and quietly unexpected: the kind that have graced the pages of House & Garden, Belle, Good Weekend, Sunday Life, AFR and your iPhone screenshots.
Now, Lucy is making that eye for detail accessible through a newly launched consultation service. Whether it’s choosing a paint colour, refining a room, selecting cushions or designing a new space, she will be available to offer practical, elevated design advice for projects of every size.
Stalk Her @lucy.m.montgomery
1. What’s your most toxic trait?
I’m a perfectionist when it comes to work, but far less zealous when it comes to my personal life. I’m also a big overthinker, I’ll ruminate on decisions I’ve already made, ultimately ending up right back where I started.
2. I’m secretly judgmental about..
I’m a big believer in investing in well-made, timeless pieces that will last. Some things are meant to be considered and crafted with care, otherwise they’re not worth purchasing at all.
A few things I feel this particularly applies to: matching furniture sets, cheap cushions and a badly set table.
3. The most ridiculous thing I’ve ever spent money on is…
Buying luxury bags and shoes in my 20s while living paycheck to paycheck.
4. On what occasion do you lie?
Occasionally when I’m running late, I’ll tell friends I’m on my way when I’m still at home.
5. I spend too much screen time on…
Instagram, Pinterest and scrolling 1stDibs for vintage finds.
6. A luxury I consider a necessity..
A long lunch with friends and date nights with my husband.
7. I’m most vain about…
My grandmother instilled in me the importance of good hair and great shoes . It’s something I carry with me today, the importance of being put together and looking polished matters to me.
8. If money were no object…
I would invest in a personal assistant.
9. People reveal themselves when…
You visit someone’s home and enter their personal space. It’s such a reflection and revelation of how they live, what their interests are, and what they value.
10. Words to live by?
Buy once, buy well.
What are your thoughts on this week’s (skin) deep dives? Leave me a comment below!
Entourage! Lol. Great read 👏👏