Met Gala

The Met Gala, also known as the Costume Institute Benefit or the Met Ball, is an annual fundraising gala for the benefit of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute in New York City. Established in 1948, the event has grown from a modest midnight supper to a significant cultural event that marks the opening of the Costume Institute's annual exhibition. The gala is widely regarded as one of the most prominent and exclusive social events in the world, attracting luminaries from the realms of aesthetics, athletics, music, business, and politics.

Each year, attendees are required to adhere to a theme that corresponds with the Costume Institute's spring exhibition. Both the museum exhibit and the gala theme blend elements of fashion and nature to symbolize the transitions of life and the ever-changing nature of fashion, inviting reflection on the significance of cherishing life's moments of happiness, progress, vitality, and achievement.

The Met Gala has a rich history of using clothing as a symbolic marker of historical epochs, social and political movements, and evolving perspectives on taste and beauty. Over the years, it has commemorated time by implicitly and explicitly addressing the major cultural, political, and social changes in a nation's history. For instance, early Americans quickly adopted the practice of using portraits to lend credibility to their new political project, replacing the portrait of King George with that of George Washington during the American Revolution.

The event has seen some of the most iconic fashion moments in history, with celebrities leaving lasting impressions with their outfits.