The Met Gala: From Midnight Suppers to Superheroes and Rihanna
Katy Perry performs at the 2017 Met Gala celebrating the exhibition Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between. All photos by BFA.com unless otherwise noted.
The Costume Institute Benefit—also known as The Met Gala—began in 1948 as a midnight supper that invited guests could attend for fifty dollars a ticket. The brainchild of publicity doyenne Eleanor Lambert, who dubbed it the "Party of the Year," the event raised funds to support The Costume Institute and celebrated the opening of its major annual exhibition. Since then, the benefit has grown in size, scope, and profile, and remains the vitally important main source of funding for the department's exhibitions, acquisitions, and capital improvements.
During Diana Vreeland's years as special consultant to The Costume Institute (1972–1989), the annual event became a grand fête for both the social and art worlds, with luminaries such as Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Pat Buckley serving as co-chairs.
In 1995 Anna Wintour—artistic director of Condé Nast and editor-in-chief of Vogue, and a Met Trustee—took over as co-chair and has overseen the party ever since (excluding the 1996 and 1998 events). Wintour has built the event into one of the most visible and successful fundraisers in the world, drawing guests from the worlds of fashion, film, society, sports, business, and music.
Held on the first Monday in May (the name of the documentary about the making of the 2015 gala and the exhibition China: Through the Looking Glass), the party is sometimes referred to as the "Oscars of the East Coast" or the "Super Bowl of Fashion."
On Monday, May 4, we were meant to celebrate the opening About Time: Fashion and Duration, and witness the red carpet's high fashion and the unfolding of another Party of the Year. As this year's event is on hold due to the global health crisis, here is a look back at some of my favorite Met Gala moments—from towering superheroes atop the Great Hall information desk, to Rihanna in her much-memed golden Guo Pei cape on the red carpet and Billy Porter arriving like no one else.
2008
The Met's Great Hall decked out for the 2008 Met Gala celebrating the exhibition Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy. Photo by Billy Farrell for PatrickMcMullan.com
2009
Marc Jacobs and Kate Moss pose on the red carpet of the 2009 Met Gala celebrating the exhibition The Model as Muse: Embodying Fashion. Photo by Billy Farrell for PatrickMcMullan.com
2010
Lady Gaga performs at the 2010 Met Gala celebrating the exhibition American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity
2011
Florence + the Machine performs in front of the Temple of Dendur during the 2011 Met Gala celebrating the exhibition Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty
2012
Bruno Mars performs in front of the Temple of Dendur at the 2012 Met Gala celebrating the exhibition Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations
2013
Debbie Harry performs at the 2013 Met Gala celebrating the exhibition Punk: Chaos to Couture
2014
Sarah Jessica Parker ascends the steps of the red carpet wearing an Oscar de la Renta gown at the 2014 Met Gala celebrating the exhibition Charles James: Beyond Fashion
2015
Rihanna poses for the photographers wearing a couture gown by Guo Pei on the red carpet of the 2015 Met Gala celebrating the exhibition China: Through the Looking Glass
2016
The Weeknd performs in front of the Temple of Dendur at the 2016 Met Gala celebrating the exhibition Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology
2017
Pharrell Williams and Helen Lasichanh pose on the red carpet wearing Comme des Garçons at the 2017 Met Gala celebrating the exhibition Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between
2018
A performance by Madonna, coming down the Great Hall stairs singing "Like a Prayer" then parting the sea of guests to climb a top a piano was a highlight of the night celebrating the opening of Heavenly Bodies. Photo © 2018 Getty Images, Kevin Mazur
2019
Billy Porter arrives in style for the opening of Camp: Notes on Fashion. Photo © Theo Wargo, Getty Images
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Related Content
About Time: Fashion and Duration will be on view at The Met Fifth Avenue from October 29, 2020 through February 7, 2021.
View images of selected objects featured in the exhibition.
Read a "Now at The Met" interview with Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Cunningham and excerpt from his short story, "Out of Time."
Purchase a copy of the About Time: Fashion and Duration exhibition catalogue in The Met Store.
Watch a video of Met Gala red carpet moments from 2015-2019:
Nancy Chilton
Nancy Chilton is the chief external relations officer for The Costume Institute.