Amanda Gorman says hosting the Met Gala feels like ‘Cinderella going to the ball’

The 23-year-old poet is to host this year alongside Billie Eilish, Timothée Chalamet and Naomi Osaka

Amanda Gorman is hosting the Met Gala 2021. (EPA-EFE)

Last year, the world was introduced to Amanda Gorman at Joe Biden’s inauguration.

Gorman was America’s first ever National Youth Poet Laureate and the youngest poet ever to perform at a presidential inauguration. Her rousing poem, The Hill We Climb, spoke of hope for America and its future.

Since then, a cover shoot for Vogue US has made it very clear that Gorman is a big part of the USA’s future. Now the poet is hosting the Met Gala alongside a host of other famous faces.

Gorman will host the Met Gala 2021 on 13 September alongside fellow Gen Z icons Billie Eilish, Timothée Chalamet and Naomi Osaka, who she has called “the new generation”.

“The closest analogy is feeling like Cinderella going to the ball,” Gorman told Porter magazine.

“Co-chairing with Timothée, Naomi and Billie – it feels like being a freshman at a party with seniors,” she added.

“There is something unifying in us being young and fresh-faced but, at the same time, we have become somewhat emblematic of our industries. We are the new generation – and you’d better watch out.”

Gorman said that she hopes her appearance at the Met Gala will strengthen the bonds between fashion and literature, continuing: “I think this is really groundbreaking. I’m even more enthusiastic to see all the other writers and poets who may grace that red carpet in the future.”

Speaking about her new fashion status after the inauguration appearance, Gorman added:“I love playing with ways in which I can celebrate my Black heritage through fashion. I made the intentional choice to wear my hair natural, to wear braids, to wear a headband as a point of pride.”

The Costume Institute’s Met Gala was cancelled last year due to the pandemic. It will return this year in two parts: America: A Lexicon of Fashion, opens on 18 September; In America: An Anthology of Fashion, opens on 5 May next year.

The New York Post reports that the event’s organiser, Vogue US editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, has had to slash the guest from 600 to 450. Although this has not been confirmed.

Jennifer Lopez, Beyoncé, Kim Kardashian, Addison Rae and Venus Williams are some of the VIPs rumoured to be attending.