Rosalía takes the MET Gala by storm in a giant ‘mantón de Manila’

Spanish singer Rosalía's interpretation of the 'American Independence' theme at last night's MET Gala raised a few eyebrows as she took to the famous red carpet in a giant Manila shawl in tribute to fellow Iberian songstress Lola Flores.

Rosalía wore a red leather fringed outfit inspired by the Manila shawl (mantón de Manila) on Monday for her debut at the exclusive gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

"It's inspired by the Manila shawl, which is very popular in Spain. Look at these fringes!" the award-winning artist told actress Keke Palmer, host of the event, about her groundbreaking image, designed by Rick Owens.

The Manila shawl (mantón de Manila or mantón de seda) is an embroidered silk shawl derived from the Filipino pañuelo. They were popular in the Philippines, Latin America and Spain during the colonial era, before becoming popular in 19th century European fashions. Today the mantón de Manila is still an essential element in traditional women's clothing in Hispanic cultures, and is particularly prominent as part of the traje de flamenca worn by flamenco dancers.

Rosalía posed on the museum steps wearing high platform boots with a transparent heel, shorts and a top that wrapped around her shoulders like a Manila shawl, extending in a train of several metres adorned with fringes.

The theme for this year's Met Gala was all things American and the singer said she was "celebrating that there are many beautiful and incredible designers" in the country, of whom she said Owens was her favourite and that is way she had chosen him for her première.

Rosalía was due to make her debut appearance at what is widely considered to be the celebrity "party of the year" in May last year, but the global pandemic forced organisers to cancel it.

The Barcelona-born singer, who recently attended New York Fashion Week, was seen last night finally enjoying the charity event with models Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid.

On social media, Rosalía showed off her look in detail and included a photo of Lola Flores in a white suit and a Manila shawl on the beach, trending almost instantly and garnering huge praise for honouring her singing compatriot.

Last night also saw Rosalía win the Best Latin MTV Video Music Award for her collaboration in 'Lo Vas a Olvidar' with Billie Eilish, although neither she nor Billie were present at the gala which was held in Brooklyn.

Throughout her career, Rosalía has won a Grammy Award, eight Latin Grammy Awards, three MTV Video Music Awards, an MTV Europe Music Award, two UK Music Video Awards and two consecutive Premio Ruido for both of her studio albums, among others. In 2019, Billboard gave her the Rising Star Award for "changing the sound of today's mainstream music with her fresh flamenco-influenced pop", and she became the first Spanish-singing act in history to be nominated for Best New Artist at the Grammys.