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Introduction
The Met Gala is a fashion event started in 1948 hosted to showcase a variety of celebrities all gathered in their finest outfits. It began as a fundraiser for the Museum of Art. Each year has a differing theme and everyone waits to see how each guest portrays their version of history through the theme. The connecting theme between each year is creativity, giving everyone an opportunity to do what they believe is best with the theme given. This creativity allows for a range of outcomes. -
Fashion Plate
This was the first ever met gala : the theme was to dress with fashion. In 2023, the themes have become a lot more specific and able to more drastic. The Met Gala is now invite only by Anna Windsor and the outfits are focused more on being curated by the designers and how the celebrities want to play their role on it. Overtime fashion is always changing and the Met is the most prestigious showing that. -
Orientalism: Visions of the East in Western Dress
The Met Gala focused on Eastern fashion and this is where outfit designed such as the Halter top began coming into the fashion world. This is Joan Rivers pictured. Being able to follow along when what trends come in and out of style is important for society as a whole to track its growth or decline. The worlds fashion norms are constantly changing and being adjusted so to have an event dedicated to this topic is a great way to preserve artifacts and clothes of the past. -
Christian Dior
An extremely popular french designer, was the theme of the 1996 Met Gala as a dedication. Princess Dianas tribute to his fashion was one of her most famous photographs. Even people just getting pictures taken at the Met grows an impact to the future. This was her first and only appearance at the Met and at the time this dress was daring and scandalous. This outfit holds such power over the future as the bag she was holding later became named "The Lady Dior". These artifacts hold iconic power. -
Jacqueline Kennedy: The White House Years
The 2001 Met Galas theme was a tribute to president Kennedy's wife, Jackie. The Met started as a winter event but wasn't moved to the spring until this year, and it's been in that season ever since. Pictured is Jackies daughter, Caroline and the first lady at the time, Laura Bush. Having people so connected to the government and have such deep connections with history all attending one event make it very desirable to pay attention to as artifacts of how people dressed during different periods. -
Fashion and the Catholic Imagination
This Met was the first ever to be focused in on christianity and 'heavenly bodies'. Combining religion and fashion is not something you would have found in the past so it's exciting to see how times are changing along with societal norms. This year the Met also displayed artifacts from the Vatican and for the first time required guests to follow a dress code : heavenly and religious. Guests took this theme and implemented outfits inspired by angles and other religious figures. -
Gilded Glamour
This year was a follow up of 2021's event, a Lexicon of Fashion, as it plays a twist focusing in on the Anthology of Fashion. Celebrities took different twists on different events as well as Americas fashion history. Some even dressed in an homage to their favorite designers. Pictured is Blake Lively with her interpretation of the Statue of Liberty. Her dressed started as a beautiful red gown then she reveled the lower part of her skirt to be blue just how it has tarnished with time. -
Through the years
Overtime the Met has drastically been changed. Now it's considered extremely prestigious, you must receive an invite and if a celebrity is involved in any sort of controversy they will not receive an invite. As you scan this exhibit and glance at the different outfits you can truly see how fashion is always going to be changing. Trends will go out and come back in twenty years later and new styles will constantly be introduced.