Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), at left standing next to Aurora James, attends The 2021 Met Gala Celebrating In America: A Lexicon Of Fashion at Metropolitan Museum of Art on Monday, September 13, 2021 in New York City. The congresswoman attended the gala, one of the biggest fashion events of the year, in a white dress by Brother Vellies that bears the message "Tax the Rich" written in red on the backside. The politician told Vogue on the red carpet that she hopes her dress can be a conversation starter. "We can't just play along, but we need to break the fourth wall and challenge some of the institutions," she said. Ocasio-Cortez told Reuters on the carpet that she felt wearing the dress to the Met Gala was important, since most conversations about taxation happen among lower-class people. "I think it's incredibly important, because when we talk about supporting working families and when we talk about having fair a tax code, oftentimes those conversations are happening among working and middle class people," she said. Ocasio-Cortez's look drew mixed reactions on Twitter, with some praising the statement and others calling it hypocritical. 📸: @mlcoppola, @gettyimages #MetGala #AOC #alexandriaocasiocortez #metropolitanmuseumofart #metgala2021 #fashion