The Met Gala is an annual fundraiser for the Metropolitan Institute of Costume Arts, and each year celebrates the theme of that year’s Costume Institute exhibition, so the show sets the tone for the formal dress of the night, as guests are expected to choose their outfits according to the theme of the exhibition. The party was previously known as the Costume Institute Ball and is also referred to as the Met Ball.
The Met Gala—known as the red carpet event for the fashion world or the Oscars of fashion—is an annual fundraiser hosted by the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
The event was established in 1948 as a solution to raise funds for the newly established Costume Institute and to announce the opening of its annual exhibition. The first party was a midnight dinner, with tickets priced at fifty dollars each. The legacy left by former Vogue editor-in-chief Diana Vreeland at the Fashion Institute made the Met Gala what it is now. Since 1973, the party has been known as the luxurious and glamorous event and considered the jewel in New York City’s social crown.
The party is widely considered to be among the world’s most exclusive and influential social events as well as among the top fundraising nights in New York City, with just over $9 million raised at the 2013 event and a record $12 million the following year. . The event is also a major source of funding for the institute, with the grant expected to exceed $200 million in total after the 2019 event since Anna Wintour took over as president of the institute in 1995.
The Met Gala was created by Eleanor Lambert, as a scheme to raise funds for the newly established Fashion Institute which marks the opening of its annual exhibition. For the first few decades of its existence, the event was considered a minor annual event for New York charities. Accordingly, the first Met Gala attendees were almost entirely members of the city’s newest garment-making community. From 1948 to 1971, the event was held at such venues as the Waldorf-Astoria, Central Park, and the Rainbow Room.
In 1972, when Diana Vreeland took over as the Chancellor of the Costume Institute, the party began to evolve into a more glamorous fashion without losing its goals towards the community group. The event began to gain recognition with many attendees gravitating towards celebrities such as Taylor Warhol, Bianca Jagger, Diana Ross, Elton John, Liza Minnelli, Cher, mingling with the city’s elite. During Vreeland’s years, the recital was held for the first time at the Met (The Metropolitan Museum of Art) where concept themes were introduced.
The event is an inaugural celebration of the institute’s annual fashion exhibition where professionals from all fields gather to build relationships and showcase their work. Although the event takes place and ends in an evening, the exhibition continues for several months afterward.
Most of the attendees are chosen and invited exclusively by Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of Vogue and head of the fashion event since 1995.
Each year, the event is given a theme that includes a cocktail hour and a formal dinner. During cocktail hour, guests appear on the red carpet and tour the gallery.
The event is also a platform for many luxury brands and individual brands to showcase their work through the celebrities who appear at the event. The Met Gala is a major event that gives many fashion designers in the industry an opportunity to showcase their talents and abilities through it. Also through this event, as the most popular event in the field of fashion, it is an opportunity for fashion critics to give their statements on the fashion in which the guests appear, as well as photographers to have a quick look and showcase their talents in their field.
