The Historic Detail You May Have Missed In Hillary Clinton's Met Gala Look

Hillary Clinton may not have had the flashiest look at the 2022 Met Gala, but her wine red gown definitely made a statement and it was right on brand. The former Secretary of State and Democratic presidential nominee attended the event for the first time in 21 years, where, famously, everybody's outfit has to be approved ahead of time by Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour. This year's theme was the Gilded Age, an epoch of American history known for its ostentatious displays of wealth. 

Some of the Met Gala attendees took the Gilded Age theme literally, like Billie Eilish, who wore a colorful corseted gown complete with bustle and flower corsage. Others had a slightly more creative take on the word "gilded," like Cardi B, who wore all gold everything. Clinton's custom Joseph Altuzarra gown took a different route altogether, but kept to the theme with a hidden historical detail that most people just looking at pictures of the dress probably missed. 

Joseph Altuzarra told Vogue in an interview that he wanted Hillary Clinton's dress to be on theme, of course, but in a way that was meaningful to her. So rather than designing the political icon a recreation of something the original Mrs. Astor might have worn or covering her in gold, Altuzarra took inspiration from "friendship quilts" in the 1800s, which were covered in embroidered or signed names. Clinton's gown had the names of 60 American women she admires embroidered along the neckline and hem. 

"I would have filled the entire dress," Clinton laughed in an interview, saying they decided to stick with women who had died for the sake of dress real estate. "We have everyone from Abigail Adams and Sacagawea to Harriet Tubman to Eleanor Roosevelt to Shirley Chisolm to Madeleine Albright who we just lost. And I thought it would be historic to wear a dress like that and really in keeping with the evening."