This year's Met Gala will take place on Monday, Sept. 13. Here is what we know!
The Met Gala is here! After last year's event was postponed and later canceled due to COVID-19 concerns, fashion's biggest night returns with what is expected to be a more intimate affair than usual.
Tonight, the biggest names in entertainment will reunite at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Celebrities like Jennifer Lopez, Kim Kardashian West, Lady Gaga and Rihanna have all graced the famous Met Ball red carpet over the years with sensational looks -- and this year will be no different!
From this year's patriotic theme to who you can expect to see posing on the famous Met stairs, ET is breaking down everything you need to know ahead of fashion's biggest night.
What is it?: Held annually on the first Monday in May, the glamorous fashion soirée (formerly known as the Costume Institute Gala) aims to raise funds for the Metropolitan Museum of Art each year. It's also referred to as the Met Ball and marks the opening of the institute's spring fashion exhibit.
What is this year's theme?: The theme of this year's Met Gala will be "In America: A Lexicon of Fashion," an exploration of the nation’s sartorial identity and a deep dive into American ingenuity. According to the press release, the exhibition opens Sept. 18 and will highlight "everything from the luxe ease of Halston's '70s glamour to Rodarte's ethereal edge and Kerby Jean-Raymond's powerful political vision for Pyer Moss."
ET's Rachel Smith spoke with Met curator Andrew Bolton about this year's theme. Bolton said he expected to see some looks from New York Fashion Week, which was also taking place.
"It is this montage of American fashion, and young designers. ...A lot of the expeditions, about 70 percent are by young, contemporary designers. I'm hoping to see a lot of young designers dressing their guests in their own way, hopefully," he told ET.
The 2021 and 2022 Met Galas will both be themed around America. Part Two, taking place on May 2, 2022, is titled In America: An Anthology of Fashion.
Who are the co-chairs?: Timothee Chalamet, Billie Eilish, poet Amanda Gorman and tennis pro Naomi Osaka will serve as co-chairs. American designer Tom Ford, Adam Mosseri and Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, meanwhile, will serve as honorary chairs.
How can I watch the Met Gala red carpet?: The Met Gala red carpet will be livestreamed by Vogue starting at 5:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. PT. Keke Palmer and Ilana Glazer will host the magazine's livestream.
The last time the event took place was 2019, with the theme being "Camp: Notes on Fashion," also curated by Bolton and based on Susan Sontag's 1994 essay, "Notes on Camp." Before it was canceled, the 2020 Met Gala would have seen French designer Nicolas Ghesquière of Louis Vuitton joining actors Lin-Manuel Miranda, Emma Stone and Meryl Streep as co-chairs.
As for the theme, About Time: Fashion and Duration, the concept was going to "trace more than a century and a half of fashion, from 1870 to the present, along with a disruptive timeline, as part of the museum's 150th anniversary celebration." The exhibition ran from Oct. 29, 2020 through Feb. 7, 2021.
Relive past Met Gala looks in the video below.
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