
The Met Gala: A visual history of the many, memorable themes
"Party of the year"
The first Monday of May is usually met with excitement in the air. It's the day the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art holds their annual gala night to celebrate their Costume Institute's yearly exhibit. A quick history lesson: The Met Gala was established in 1948 by the same person who launched New York Fashion Week, fashion publicist Eleanor Lambert in order to raise money for the then newly-founded Costume Institute. Branding it as "party of the year", it was attended by New York's finest elite and the creme de la creme of the fashion industry. It's said that the early days of the Met Gala was held at several of New York's most character-defining locations, like Central Park, the Waldorf-Astoria and the Rainbow Room.
It wasn't until the early '70s when Diana Vreeland of Vogue joined as a special consultant and transformed The Met Gala to what we recognise today. Vreeland's first moves was to relocate the gala into the museum and to invite co-chairs, which would then influence the theme of the exhibitions. Some of the early co-chairs included fashion brands like Balenciaga and Saint Laurent.
Trust us to dive deep into the archives to hunt for as many throwback themes as we could find, plus the most extravagant outfits The Met Gala has seen. Which is your favourite year?
1973 — The World of Balenciaga
1974 — Romantic and Glamorous Hollywood Design

1975 — American Women of Style
1976 — The Glory of Russian Costume

1977 — Vanity Fair: A Treasure Trove
1978 — Diaghilev: Costumes and Designs of the Ballets Russes
1979 — Fashions of the Habsburg Era: Austria-Hungary

1980 — The Manchu Dragon: Costumes of China, the Chi'ng Dynasty





1981 — The Eighteenth-Century Woman







1982 — La Belle Époque

1983 — Yves Saint Laurent: 25 Years of Design



1984 — Man and the Horse
1985 — Costumes of Royal India

1986 — Dance

1987 — In Style: Celebrating Fifty Years of the Costume Institute
1988 — From Queen to Empress: Victorian Dress

1989 - The Age of Napoleon: Costume from Revolution to Empire



1990 — Théâtre de la Mode–Fashion Dolls: The Survival of Haute Couture




1992 — Fashion and History: A Dialogue




1993 — Diana Vreeland: Immoderate Stylepr
1994 — Orientalism: Visions of the East in western dress




1995 — Haute Couture







1996 — Christian Dior





1997 — Gianni Versace





1998 — Cubism and Fashion



1999 — Rock Style












2001 — Jacqueline Kennedy: The White House Years










2003 — Goddess: The Classical Mode




2004 — Dangerous Liaisons: Fashion and Furniture in the 18th Century


2005 — The House of Chanel




2006 — AngloMania: Tradition and Transgression in British Fashion




2007 — Poiret: King of Fashion




2008 — Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy


2009 — The Model As Muse: Embodying Fashion






2010 — American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity







2011 — Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty





2012 — Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations




2013 — Punk: Chaos to Couture




2014 — Charles James: Beyond Fashion







2015 — China: Through the Looking Glass







2016 — Manus x Machina: Fashion In An Age Of Technology






2017 — Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between







2018 — Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination








2019 — Camp: Notes on Fashion














