Eileen Gu’s appearance at Met Gala lights up Chinese social media

Winter Olympian Eileen Gu set Chinese social media on fire after attending the notoriously exclusive Met Gala, on Monday night, in a figure-hugging Louis Vuitton minidress.

Appearing on the red carpet just days after leaving China for the US – where college is due to start this fall – the freestyle skier was, within hours of the event, the second most talked about topic on the similar platform. to Twitter, Weibo. The #EileenGuMetGalaRedCarpet hashtag has now been viewed more than 250 million times.

Eileen Gu arrives at the Met Gala in New York on Monday night. Credit: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

Born and raised in California, Gu, 18, switched her sporting allegiance to her mother’s home country of China ahead of this year’s Beijing Winter Games. Her popularity there has helped her land deals with companies like Victoria’s Secret and Tiffany & Co.

The skier’s association with Louis Vuitton has also seen her appear in high-profile campaigns for the French luxury house. For the Met Gala red carpet, which is known for her tightly controlled guest list, the brand dressed her in a strapless leather dress, knee-high boots and a metallic clutch.

While some users questioned Gu’s adherence to the “Gold Glamour, White Tie” fundraising theme, Chinese netizens’ responses to the look They were largely positive.

“Her figure and style really do look like a supermodel,” one Weibo user wrote. “Eileen Gu looks stunning in this outfit,” commented another, comparing her to DC Comics superhero Wonder Woman.

Eileen Gu (centre) pictured at a Louis Vuitton womenswear show in Paris in October 2021. Credit: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

Others, however, suggested that Gu was taking advantage of his Olympic medal success. “She is taking advantage of her popularity right now and is in a hurry to maximize the value of her business,” one user wrote. “What a clever and fluid strategy.”

Gu was one of several celebrities, including Emma Stone, Cynthia Erivo and “Squid Game” star Hoyeon Jung, to wear Louis Vuitton at the star-studded event.

Although known as an athlete, Gu is also represented by IMG Models, the agency that represents fashion heavyweights such as Bella Hadid, Kate Moss and Hailey Bieber. Even before collecting three medals in her Olympics debut in February, the skier could be seen at industry events like Paris Fashion Week.

This Monday marked her second appearance at the Met Gala, having attended last year’s fundraiser in a Carolina Herrera bubble dress.

Last year, Gu attended the Met Gala in a Carolina Herrera dress. Credit: Dimitrios Kambouris/Met Museum/Vogue/Getty Images

“Compared to last year, she became much more confident and started enjoying the gala,” said one Weibo user, with another adding, “She’s only 18, but she’s been invited to the Met Gala twice.”

Last week, Gu divided opinion on Weibo with a seemingly innocuous post bidding farewell to China as he headed to the US to study. Writing to her 6.8 million followers on Weibo, the skier simply posted: “Thank you China,” complete with a Chinese flag emoji and a heart. But, some netizens accused her of acting “like a foreigner”, while others wondered why she didn’t say “thank you, motherland” or “thank you, [mi] country”.

With numerous Chinese cities experiencing lockdowns or worsening Covid-19 outbreaks, Gu has also faced criticism over the timing of his departure. Some netizens pointed out the contrast between the star’s appearance at the Met Gala and the situation faced by millions of people in China.

“If the epidemic continues, the economy continues to fall, and ordinary people will further lose the ability to empathize with these champions, who don’t have to worry about food or clothes, even though Eileen is innocent,” one Weibo user wrote.