Met Gala 2022 organizers are resisting widespread criticism for the event’s theme, ‘Gilded Glamor and White Tie’, amid the accusation of insensitivity to worsening inflation that most Americans are against confronted.

The annual gala’s sartorial theme follows part two of curator Andrew Bolton’s two-part exhibition In America: An Anthology of Fashion, which explores the origins of American fashion. However, many onlookers took to social media to condemn Monday night’s event for its extravagance and luxury as the country grapples with a declining economy.

While “Gilded Glamor and White Tie” pays homage to the period of rapid prosperity, industrialization and growth in the United States from 1870 to 1890, some have called it “out of touch”.

An user tweeted“Am I the only one who thinks this year’s #MetGala theme is disconnected? Inequality is at its highest since the Golden Age, a pandemic and economic collapse have destroyed us, inflation is out of control… but cool, let’s wear #GildedAge themed dresses and laugh at inequality… this year’s theme is a slap in the face to average Americans.”

Another user pointed out the irony of such a theme amid the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, in writing: “Golden glamor in times of war, let them eat cake”, referring to a quote commonly attributed to the French queen Marie-Antoinette, who during the French Revolution is said to have suggested that starving peasants who ran out of bread could eat cake cake.

In the last quarter, the U.S. economy contracted for the first time since the recession that hit during the pandemic two years ago. US GDP fell about 0.35% from January to March, or an annualized rate of 1.4%, prompting experts to point to rising inflation, the Omicron variant and supply chain issues.

Rising inflation and economic contraction suggest the US economy is at greater risk of a downturn, especially as Russia’s war in Ukraine continues to batter the global economy.

“It’s too much on the nose for the Met Gala to have a ‘Gilded Age’ theme on the very day we know the US economy is contracting,” a Business Insider reporter said. tweeted.

“The Met Gala this year is going to piss people off. The theme being golden glamour??? And with everything going on this year yeah people are going to be crazy lol,” another user tweeted.

Each year, the gala attracts the wealthy and powerful to raise funds for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute, which is the only department of the museum that is required to raise its own funds.

The cost of a seat at last year’s gala started at $35,000, although some guests on the very selective guest list are invited for free. The event, which is the institute’s main source of revenue, raised more than $16.4 million last year.

Last year’s gala also sparked controversy, as Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wore a white dress that read “Tax the rich.” The dress drew backlash across the political spectrum, with critics condemning the decision as both hypocritical and performative.

Ocasio-Cortez defended his actions, saying, “The medium is the message.”