Met Gala 2021: Everything you need to know

The Metropolitan Museum of Art hosts a Met Gala every year. While last year's Gala was cancelled, a smaller gathering will occur in September.

Courtesy of Pinterest.com

The Metropolitan Museum of Art hosts a Met Gala every year. While last year’s Gala was cancelled, a smaller gathering will occur in September.

The Met Gala is the most selective event of the year filled with a few A-list celebrities, glitz, and glamour galore. Well known as “fashion’s biggest night out,” the enchanting Met Gala is returning on Monday, Sept. 13. Typically, the Met Gala is held on the first Monday in May, but it was delayed due to the pandemic.

The Met Ball will be hosted by honorary chairs Tom Ford, Adam Mosseri, and Anna Wintour and co-chairs Timothée Chalamet, Billie Eilish, Amanda Gorman, and Naomi Osaka. 

The Met Gala is an annual fundraising event for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, New York. This year the Ball theme is American Fashion, and the Costume Institute will be hosting a two-part exhibition. The First, “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion,” will be displayed in the Anna Wintour Costume Center in September 2021 and the second half, “In America: An Anthology of Fashion,” will open in May 2022 in the American Wing. A ticket to attend the Met Gala is rumored to be $30,000, however all of the proceeds do go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute.

The theme, American Independence, can have many different meanings and it will be entertaining to look at all of the different takes on the theme. According to Vogue, viewers should expect a red carpet filled with “anything-goes gowns and a dash of something star-spangled.”

“The main one was the fact that the American fashion community has been supporting us for 75 years, really since the beginning of the Costume Institute,” said Andrew Bolton, the Wendy Yu Curator in Charge of the Costume Institute. “So, I wanted to acknowledge its [fashion community’s] support, and also to celebrate and reflect upon American fashion.”

Blake Lively, American actress, attends the 2018 Met Gala and matches the color of her dress to the red carpet detailing. (Courtesy of WhoWhatWear.com)

The Met Gala is so entertaining because no one’s look is the same. Each designer has creative freedom. While the guest list is limited this year due to the pandemic, there will still be plenty of extravagant costumes to enjoy.

“I’m so excited for this year’s Met Gala,” said Taylor Cavo, senior. “I hope to see Blake Lively because she always matches her look to the color of the red carpet.”

Previous Met Gala themes have included: Camp: Notes on Fashion (2019), Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination (2018), Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between (2017), and Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology (2016), just to name a few.

SZA is shown is a Versace ensemble paired with thigh high bejeweled boots. (Courtesy of Pinterest.com)

“My favorite theme was Heavenly Bodies,” said Esha Patil, senior. “I loved how elegant most of the gowns were, especially SZA’s angel inspired look.”

Fashion is coming back in full force this fall! With younger co-hosts, the Met Gala is targeting a new generation and you won’t want to miss it!! Feel free to start planning a watch party with friends.