Every Outfit

Episode 249: On the Met Gala, Courtney Love, BigTool4U (Feat. Princess Nokia)

Date: November 28, 2025
Hosts: Chelsea Fairless & Lauren Garroni
Special Guest: Princess Nokia

Episode Overview

This episode dives into fashion, pop culture, and the intersections of both, with a spirited discussion on the 2025 Met Gala's theme and sponsors, media evolutions at Vanity Fair, and nuanced cultural phenomena from Sex and the City to Ghost World. The second half features a dynamic interview with musician and New York “it girl” Princess Nokia, who discusses her new album "Girls," Courtney Love, iconic fashion, and the art of being subversive—plus takes on period blood in art, riot grrrl aesthetics, and the endless brilliance (and failures) of Sex and the City.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Met Gala 2025: Theme, Sponsors, and the "Bezos Sanchez of it All"

[01:23–08:19]

• The 2025 Met Gala theme is “Costume Art,” centered on the dressed body, body modification, nudity, and art/fashion intersections. The new 12,000 sq. ft. galleries at the Met will bring the Costume Institute out of the basement and elevate its importance.
• Chelsea: “It’s an un-fuck-up-able red carpet theme. I anticipate we’ll see clothes that reference anatomy, body modification, nudity… as well as more historical pieces.” (03:08)
• Lauren: Notes how broadly adaptable and accessible this theme is, unlike recent, more restrictive ones.
• Main sponsor controversy: Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez, as private underwriters, provoke strong reactions, given their public image and overt connections to Conde Nast’s Anna Wintour.
• Chelsea: “I don’t think anyone deserves to have a billion dollars in this life. But I’m not going to be like ‘fuck them’ for sponsoring this charity event while I shop on Amazon myself.” (06:23)
• Lauren: Their involvement has overshadowed that of luxury brand Saint Laurent as additional sponsor. Ponders what this means for the future of arts philanthropy and creative institutions increasingly reliant on ultrarich donors.

2. Vanity Fair’s Hollywood Issue: New Editor, Old (Male) Energy

[10:28–16:39]

• Debating Marc Guiducci’s debut as EIC with the all-male Hollywood Issue covers.
• Lauren: “What in the Abercrombie and Fitch is this?” (10:43)
• Chelsea views the shoot as fresh and classic, reminiscent of 1990s Bruce Weber or Mario Testino.
• Critique: All-male “boys” covers with an average age of 35 don’t represent the new guard. Notable omissions include Timothée Chalamet or Jacob Elordi.
• Bemoans brainrot from “stars are just like us” video content, and celebrity press tours forcing actors into awkwardly relatable internet segments.

3. "Sex and the City" Hypotheticals & Fashion Lore

[16:39–22:09]

• Mapping the SATC women onto Los Angeles neighborhoods, both original and current series iterations:
  • Carrie: Hollywood (then); Hancock Park (now)
  • Samantha: West Hollywood, always penthouse-level
  • Charlotte: Beverly Hills/Brentwood
  • Miranda: Studio City/Santa Monica/Los Feliz
• LA geography means “they would basically never see each other” (18:33)
• Quick detour into Ione Skye’s new memoir, with tangents about 1990s fashion, lore, and celebrity connections.

4. Lightning Fashion, Pop & Culture Q&A

[34:12–41:44 and beyond, via listener calls]

• What brand would you wear forever?
  • Chelsea: Yves Saint Laurent.
  • Lauren: Jean Paul Gaultier or Phoebe Philo–era Chloé.
• Death Becomes Her remake fan-cast:
  • Anne Hathaway as Meryl; Lady Gaga as Goldie’s character (not Kate Hudson); Michaela Coel for the Isabella Rossellini role
• Alexa Demie’s career:
  • Chelsea: “One of the great tragedies of the entertainment industry...Maybe she should get new reps.” (37:29)
  • Lauren: “I just think she’s too cool for Hollywood.”
• Glamorous Women Having Nervous Breakdowns, Sleepover Edition:
  • Campy picks: Valley of the Dolls, Serial Mom, First Wives Club. Melancholia/Persona too sad!
  • Lauren recommends a montage of freakout scenes for slumber parties.

5. Pop Culture Deep Cuts & Hot Takes

Scattered throughout, incl. calls:

• Why did they make Naomi Watts British? Actual British roots, accent lore, and “accent puberty” (24:06–25:07).
• Kardashian content hiatus: Due to backlash and professional conflicts of interest.
• Rosalía’s album LUX:
  • Chelsea: “Rare that pop artists with the fame level of Rosalia make music that is this avant garde.”
  • Both praise experimental direction and referential, deep-cut fashion styling; Princess Nokia later joins the conversation.
• Ghost World appreciation: Film as North Star for alt-girls; perfectly encapsulates drifting post-high-school female friendship.
• Cher's gelato: Listener bafflement, Vogue backstory (“I can’t even imagine her eating ice cream…there’s something about Cher that just makes me imagine big salads and lean protein.” – Chelsea, 48:15)

Interview: Princess Nokia

[60:16–101:18]

Fashion, Feminism, & Artistic Subversion

• Naming her track “Phoebe Philo”:
  • “I thought it was such a cunty reference that I had not heard any of my peers do… I don’t wear that stuff and perhaps I don’t know certain collections by heart, but I know the essence of what that woman is because I’ve always been her.” — Princess Nokia (60:45)
• Courtney Love, Glamour and Selling Out:
  • Courtney’s defense of red-carpet glamour was sampled at the album’s start: “We as females have thousands and thousands of years of fashion in our DNA. We want to wear nice clothes. It’s part of what we do…” (62:29)
  • Princess Nokia on Courtney: “Every so often, misunderstood woman, glamorous woman, having nervous breakdowns, they always come back into the zeitgeist… we support women’s rights and women’s wrongs.” (62:59)

High Fashion Stories

• Margiela Mutiny campaign with John Galliano:
  • Princess Nokia shares a poetic encounter: Galliano fitted her personally and had her dance to Joan Baez’s “Diamonds and Rust.”
  • “I did this beautiful interpretive dance for six minutes straight… At the end, all these French people stood up and cried.” (67:31)

Art, Violence, and Menstruation in Music

• Concept of “Blue Velvet”:
  • Inspired by David Lynch and listening to the hosts’ references over the years: “I digest his work, but [decided], I’m David Lynch, babe, I’m smoking Blue Velvet. I’m just on some other kind of shit.”
  • “I wanted to make something that was cool and that was poignant and that was provocative and that spoke things that were very… powerful.” (71:50)
• Provocative album art (real period blood):
  • “I wanted to anchor some artwork...I didn’t know that my period was going to come two days before that shoot…I took the diva cup, and I put the blood on it like an artist would. And I said, oh, this looks fabulous.” (74:17)
  • Chelsea: “To me, the album cover feels very Riot Grrrl… or 70s performance artist…” (75:54)

Championing Pop Girlies, Deep-Cuts, & Subculture

• Name-dropping female musicians:
  • “I only like the girls...Lauryn Hill, LeChat, Lil' Kim, Foxy Brown… I refer to it as the summer of pop… All these pop girls… have their own thing going on.” (77:36)
• On period blood as punk:
  • Lauren recalls L7's infamous tampon-throwing incident as “the ultimate punk f-you to the crowd.” (76:55)

Sex and the City “Hot Takes,” Legacy, and Missed Opportunities

• Nokia’s wish for the hosts:
  • “I could have swore…that you guys were being individually plucked to spearhead and just like that…If we were a part of the writing room…we would have avoided that continuity error.” (96:11, 99:19)
  • “I think you guys would have invigorated the franchise…There was a real missed opportunity to show the chicness of modern women…” (99:19)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Lauren on the Met Gala:
  “This is Marie Antoinette, let them eat cake, eat the rich type of event. So having [Bezos and Sanchez] involved isn’t the craziest thing?” (07:46)
• Chelsea on personal style:
  “Having a personal style is overrated. Half the people that do have personal style—they still end up looking like shit.” (53:44)
• Princess Nokia:
  “Women in music is my special interest. I've never been interested in men in rap. I only like the girls.” (77:36)
• Chelsea on being haunted by middle school fashion:
  “One item of clothing that really fucking haunts me… it was a baby tee. It said fashion on it. And then it had a little baby chick...I wore it with baggy pinstriped trousers with suspenders.” (55:24)
• Princess Nokia on “Blue Velvet”:
  “I wanted to make something that was cool and that was poignant and that was provocative and that spoke things that were very, you know, powerful.” (71:50)
• Chelsea endorsing guest:
  “I'm speechless. And I'm honored coming from you.” (99:24)

Segment Timestamps

• [01:23–08:19] Met Gala 2025 Theme & Controversy
• [10:28–16:39] Vanity Fair’s Hollywood Issue & Celebrity Press Brainrot
• [16:39–22:09] “Sex and the City” LA Neighborhoods & Ione Skye Memoir
• [34:12–41:44] Lightning Q&A: Fashion Picks, Remake Casting, Alexa Demie
• [46:38–50:05] Cher's Gelato & Celebrity Branding
• [50:05–54:07] Wardrobe Revamps & Personal Style Philosophy
• [56:33–58:29] Glamorous Women Breaking Down—Sleepover Films
• [60:16–101:18] Princess Nokia Interview & Listener Questions

Listener Q&A & Highlights

• Is Ms. Piggy abusive, or is it a dom-sub relationship?
  General agreement it is “kink shaming” a dom-sub relationship; also commentary on queer-coded power couples. (79:50–81:14)
• Is it okay to wear Uggs outside?
  Approved—with caveats: context and era matter, but go for it with a sweatsuit (and coffee).
• Sex and the City characters in the Epstein files?
  Samantha would have tangential ties—PR emails and scandalous photos, but stops short of criminal implication.

Princess Nokia: Fan-Favorite Listener Questions

• What would you want SJP to do next?
  • Princess Nokia: “Be someone’s quirky, messy stoner aunt.” (93:13)
  • Chelsea: “A prestige romantic comedy—or The Big Lebowski, but with SJP.” (94:12)
• Sex and the City’s writing team missed opportunity:
  • “I think my hottest take was that they missed out not hiring you guys. I think that was the biggest fucking blunder and mistake.” (99:19)

Tone & Style

The episode is characteristically witty, sharp, and steeped in irreverent, cerebral pop-culture analysis. Chelsea and Lauren toss between jaded veteran takes and utter pop fan exuberance; Princess Nokia brings playful, radical honesty and a clear adoration for both fashion and feminist subversion—framed with candor about bodily functions, period blood as art, and the enduring power of the “girls.”

Useful for New Listeners

This episode is packed with fashion analysis, sharp parodies of celebrity culture, and a rare, unguarded interview with Princess Nokia—all anchored by the hosts’ encyclopedic cultural knowledge and double-edged reverence for (and critique of) the worlds of style, art, music, and television. You’ll leave with hot takes on everything from iconic magazine covers to menstrual art performance, and the fate of fictional friendships in LA, plus a lot of memorable humor and candid truths.