Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Met Gala Dress Had a Stark Message

It's the first Met Gala for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) (opens in new tab), and the representative absolutely did not waste her moment. She's in a white Brother Vellies dress (with matching Brother Vellies shoes), according to Vogue (opens in new tab), with the back reading in bright red lettering, "Tax the rich." It's very much in line with her policies and also an impressively impactful statement, given the visibility of the event. Her bag repeats the messaging, just in case we missed it the first time. I love her.

Fans on Twitter also loved it (opens in new tab) and were impressed—particularly that she chose the high fashion, star-studded event to do it: "AOC wearing this dress at an event full of rich people ... this woman has more balls than any man in Congress." And (opens in new tab) "AOC wearing a Tax the Rich dress at the #MetGala with Kris Jenner over her shoulder wow icon." According to Andrea González-Ramírez (opens in new tab), there's another, more subtle message in her look: She's also wearing a flor de maga (the national flower of Puerto Rico). AOC has advocated for Puerto Rico in the past, including civil rights and disaster relief.

AOC walked with Aurora James (opens in new tab), who started the 15 Percent Pledge (to bring 15 percent or more of Black-owned businesses to major brands like Target) and is founder of Brother Vellies. In James' own words:

“We can never get too comfortable in our seats at the table once they’ve been given ... We must always continue to push ourselves, push our colleagues, push the culture and push the country forward. Fashion is changing, America is changing. And as far as this theme goes, I think Alexandria and I are a great embodiment of the language fashion needs to consider adding to the general lexicon as we work towards a more sustainable, inclusive, and empowered future.”

Here's the full picture of the gown:

And another angle:

And the front (so deceptively simple!!):

Here's a picture of it in motion:

Gorgeous. And meaningful!