Met Gala gowns worn by Saweetie, Hailee Steinfeld and Gemma Chan make fashion statements

Saweetie's gown stressed her dual racial heritage.

The theme for this year’s Met Gala was "In America: A Lexicon of Fashion" and each attendee was expected to show up in attire representing an interpretation of that concept. Clearly,  rapper Saweetie aced the assignment.

There is no doubt about the message sent by the Filipino American performer and the gown she wore to the Met Gala last weekend.

“I’m wearing Christian Cowan and I have two flags dedicatedly draped on my body,” she told ESSENCE correspondent Gia Peppers.

“One is them is the Black American heritage flag and one of them is a Filipino flag because I’m a Blackapino girl and that’s what makes me an American,” she continued. The flags on accentuated both sides of the performer’s body and formed two trains that draped down the museum’s iconic steps.

Hailee Seinfeld's "white" appearance raised some eyebrows.

On the other hand, Hailee Steinfeld's fashion statement rendered her completely unrecognizable. Except for her brown eyes, any hint of her Filipino heritage has been completely erased.

The actor and singer went with blonde wig and matching bleached eyebrows . She also wore matte makeup that was one tone, without much color on her lips or cheeks.

Steinfeld wore a dress by Dutch couture designer Iris van Herpen with an environmental theme. The Instagram page for van Herpen's line explains that the dress Steinfeld chose, the Magnetosphere dress, is made out of recycled plastic trash tossed into the ocean. "The Magnetosphere dress is created with Parley Ocean Plastic®️, sourced from upcycled marine debris in collaboration with Parley for the Oceans," reads an Instagram post from July.

The question is: Was going whiteface her intended message? Was her appearance a political statement about representation in Hollywood? Iff so, it would be a case of redundancy. Steinfeld, whose grandfather was Filipino, has never played a person of color in any of her movies. She hasn't attempted to shed any light on her appearance in any of her social media.

Gemma Chan, left, was inspired by pioneer actress Anna May Wong.

Gemma Chan (Crazy Rich Asians, The Eternals) used the high fashion event to pay tribute to Anna May Wong, the first Asian American Hollywood star.

Chan's dress had a dragon pattern on her Prabal Gurung minidress resembled a gown Wong wore in the 1934 film Limehouse Blues. An oversized, green bow that flowed into a train tied the dress together.

In an Instagram post featuring an image of Wong, Chan asked, "Who gets to be an American?"