This year’s Met Gala theme and hosts have been announced and we’re confused
Earlier today, the fashion gods of New York City announced the theme of the most discussed event of the year, the Met Gala, scheduled to take over Fifth Avenue on May 6.
Following a long tradition that kicked off decades ago, this year’s focus and dress code is “The Garden of Time,” and we’re scratching our heads here.
Back in November, the Metropolitan Museum of Art revealed that the spring exhibit that always inspires the gala was going to be “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion.” We’ve spent months considering how the show’s title would translate into statement-making fashion choices that are dissected for months on end but it turns out that was time wasted: “The Garden of Time” is a departure from the visions of fairytale-like clothes that the words “Sleeping Beauty” conjured.
Alas, we live in Anna Wintour’s city (and world, to be honest), so whatever she decides the theme should be, there it is. Besides: celebrities tend to wear just about anything they want on that much-anticipated first Monday of May, when the gala traditionally takes place, no matter the proposed scope. Interpretation, it seems, varies widely.
In addition to the dress, the Metropolitan Museum of Art just revealed the event’s co-hosts as well—which, we’ll be honest, are a bit more exciting than the fashion-related updates we got.
Interestingly enough, the chosen stars, which promote the event and help with fundraising efforts, run the gamut in terms of celebrity type: pop icon Jennifer Lopez was tapped alongside actor Chris Hemsworth, the mononymous Zendaya and the Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny, arguably one of the most recognized characters in his musical genre at the moment.
While musing on all that the Met Gala stands for and our affinity for the event despite its curious themes, it occurred to us that not many are aware of what the Costume Institute Benefit, the fundraiser’s formal name, is actually all about.
Established 1948 by fashion publicist Eleanor Lambert, the event functioned as a fundraiser for the then-new Costume Institute, a way to mark the opening of the cultural space’s annual exhibit. Back then, folks could actually purchase tickets for the event, a straight-up dinner party, for $50 (!). Funnily enough, given the importance of the venue where the night takes place now, the Gala used to be held across different city venues, from the Rainbow Row to the Waldorf Astoria.
Things changed in 1972, when the legendary Diana Vreeland was hired as a consultant and decided to revamp the event and focus more on celebrity attendees. That’s when themes were officially introduced.
Fast-forward decades and the ball is still one of the most important events of the social season, taking place every year except 2000, when a Chanel exhibit was canceled in 2002, following 9/11, and 2020, because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A few months away from this year’s iteration of the spectacle, we can’t wait to see what weird, amusing and downright beautiful outfits attendees will choose to dazzle us in come May.