Emma Chamberlain, a popular US YouTuber, has received severe criticism for the diamond necklace she wore to this year’s Met Gala. The historic necklace, designed by Cartier, formerly belonged to Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala and boasts a De Beers diamond, which was once the world’s seventh biggest.
Parts of the necklace, including the huge Da Beera diamond, were eventually bought by Cartier when it vanished from the Royal Treasury of Patiala in 1948. The necklace designer has been chastised for enabling Chamberlain to wear what has been termed as “a portion of India’s stolen heritage” just days after the charity event this year.
However, Chamberlain’s outfit was not the only point of contention at this year’s Met Gala. The Met Gala, sometimes known as the “Oscars of fashion,” is noted for showy displays of wealth and excess. This year’s dress code, ‘Gilded Glamour,’ was a tribute to the United States’ Gilded Age in the nineteenth century. However, in the midst of a catastrophic conflict in Ukraine, increasing prices, and new waves of the Covid-19 outbreak, many have criticised the charity event for being too extravagant.
The Met Gala’s subject this year was ‘In America: An Anthology of Fashion,’ which was intended to be a follow-up to previous year’s theme, ‘In America: A Lexicon of Fashion.’ According to Vogue, Andrew Bolton, the Wendy Yu Curator in Charge of the Costume Institute, “focuses on the foundations of American style and honours the faceless and unsung pioneers of US design” in his second show.
The ‘Gilded Glamour’ clothing code alluded to the “extraordinary wealth, cultural transformation, and industry” that occurred between 1870 and 1890. Guests were encouraged to draw inspiration from ‘Gilded Age New York.’
As the Cartier brand ambassador, Chamberlain graced the Met Gala red carpet. Her ensemble was coupled with a historic platinum and diamond Cartier tiara dating from 1911, as well as the necklace in question. “During the Gilded Age, jewellery was all about being extravagant, and I’ve never seen a more lavish necklace,” she remarked in an interview with Vogue.
Chamberlain and Cartier have suffered a lot of heat for the jewellery in the days after the event. The South Asian community, notably Indian Americans, felt the jewellery brand’s decision to allow a “influencer” to “flaunt stolen items” on the Met Gala red carpet was in terrible taste.
The choker was originally part of the Patiala necklace, which also had five chains and a neck collar. It was made in 1928 for Maharaja of Patiala Bhupinder Singh and contained around 2,900 diamonds, including the De Beers, which was the world’s seventh-largest diamond at the time.
Following British sovereignty in India, the necklace is said to have vanished from the royal Treasury of Patiala in 1948. The “De Beers” diamond resurfaced and was sold in a Sotheby’s auction in Geneva in 982. Cartier attempted to reconstruct the necklace by replacing the lost diamonds and stones with copies after recovering a portion of it in a London second-hand jewellery store in 1998, according to Mashable.
Some speculated that Chamberlain’s wearing the necklace drew less notice and controversy than reality star Kim Kardashian’s decision to wear Marilyn Monroe’s clothing on the red carpet, implying a racial prejudice.
Monroe famously donned the golden gown when singing “Happy Birthday Mr President” to President John F Kennedy in 1962. It is the world’s most costly dress, containing 2,500 (some sources indicate 6,000) hand-sewn crystals.
Kardashian was able to persuade Ripley’s Believe It or Not! to loan her the garment, which came with “armed guards and gloves,” according to the New York Post. For the actual occasion, she changed into a replica of the dress.
Audiences, however, were critical of her decision to wear the garment, claiming that it is a piece of American history that should be handled with respect.
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