The Met Gala red carpet has a new addition this year: A meme correspondent.
Saint Hoax, an influencer with more than 2.8 million followers on Instagram, will be live from the event's red carpet making — you guessed it — memes.
He will be "Instagram’s first-ever Meme Correspondent on the Met Gala red carpet," the platform said. The event will take place Monday at New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art after being canceled last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Saint Hoax's presence on the carpet is part of a larger push from Instagram — which is the official sponsor of the 2021 Met Gala, exhibitions and catalog — to give fans a more behind-the-scenes look at one of the biggest nights in the fashion world.
"For major cultural moments like the Met Gala, people dive into Instagram to connect with the action," Ricky Sans, Instagram's strategic partner manager for memes, told NBC News in an email. "Now, more than ever, we’re seeing an entirely new generation of fashion gurus and culture-shapers emerge on the platform - they also happened to grow up on memes."
Though Saint Hoax will be the only one making memes from the actual carpet, there will be a community of meme-fluencers at an Instagram watch party creating similar content using a live feed of the carpet.
Using the hashtags #ReelMetIcons & #MemetheMet, a handful of influencers — including @Mytherapistsays, @ideservecouture @Mufashdia, @juliancookies and @eljosecriales — will provide live commentary and Reels around some of the carpet's most iconic looks.
The theme of this year's Met Gala is "In America: A Lexicon of Fashion," and the dress code is "American Independence." The event's extravagant and avant garde couture will likely lend itself to ideal meme fodder.
"I’m really excited to watch the meme community continue to play such an influential role in driving cultural commentary around these awesome moments," Sans said.
So how does a meme creator prepare for fashion's biggest event of the year?
"With an event like this, it’s not really about preparing, more like anticipating who will steal the show and help create a moment that will be recognized and celebrated by internet culture," Saint Hoax, a Syrian artist who prefers to keep his anonymity by using only his account handle, told NBC News in an email interview.
"I would say that my process includes a little bit of research but mostly focusing on going into a kind of meditative zone that helps me tune into what people will connect with. I try to channel a moment that has resonance, accessibility and illustrates what people are secretly thinking inside their heads."
Saint Hoax's account has become known for its biting commentary on American culture through pop culture references. He often merges politics and popular culture using satire.
"Meme culture is really about tapping into the zeitgeist and having a little bit of fun with it," Saint Hoax said. "For anyone who follows my work, they’ll be familiar with the idea that I try to find the sweet spot between politics, celebrity culture and social justice issues with a satiric angle. So, I’m excited to see how all those come together on Monday night with a side dish of high fashion."
Those following the Met memes can also tune a livestream from the carpet itself, thanks to Vogue. The stream, which will be hosted by Keke Palmer and Ilana Glazer, will be broadcast live across Vogue's platforms.
