Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wears a major political statement at the 2021 Met Gala

(CNN) – US Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez attended the Met Gala 2021 Monday night with a message for Americans in bright red: “Tax the Rich.”

Decked out in an off-the-shoulder white gown from Brooklyn-based designer brand Brother Vellies, New York politics revealed the statement, scrawled in bold lettering on the back of her dress, as she climbed the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of London. Art.

Making her Met Gala debut, Ocasio-Cortez completed the look with signature gold earrings and a pink flower pinned to her bow.

Speaking to reporters at the event, he explained why he had brought his message to the Met Gala, an event attended by many of Hollywood’s biggest and richest stars.

“When we talk about supporting working families and when we talk about having a fair tax code, often this conversation happens between working and middle class people (in) the Senate.

“I think it’s time we brought all the classes into conversation,” he continued.

The choice of Ocasio-Cortez’s white dress echoed the long history of American congresswomen wearing that shade in reference to the women’s suffrage movement. She wore a white suit to her swearing-in ceremony in 2019, and later said on Twitter that it was in tribute to “the women who paved the way before me, and for all the women to come.”

Ocasio-Cortez was joined on the cream red carpet by Brother Vellies Creative Director Aurora James, who is known for spearheading the “15% Pledge” initiative. The initiative, which started on Instagram, urges retailers and corporations to commit 15% of their purchasing power to support black-owned businesses.

There were other messages on display at the annual fundraiser, which raises money for the Met’s Suit Institute and borrows its theme from the museum’s latest exhibit (this year’s “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion”). Earlier in the day, soccer star Megan Rapinoe was seen wearing a bag that read “In Gay We Trust,” while fellow congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney arrived in a vibrant dress covered in text that read “Equal rights for women. “.

On Twitter, Maloney referred to her daring outfit, which celebrates the 19th Amendment, which gives women the right to vote. She wrote: “Across the country, women’s rights are under attack.”

“As the Met’s Suit Institute reopens (with its) inaugural exhibit celebrating American designers, I call for ERA (Equal Rights Amendment) certification so that women can be equal once and for all “he continued.