Following last year’s cancellation, the Met Gala is finally back and as promised, the looks of fashion’s biggest night are as colossal as ever.
Typically held on the first Monday of May, the Met Gala – an annual fundraiser for The Costume Institute, better known as the fashion world’s equivalent of the Oscar – falls amidst the frenzy of fashion month this year. And in line with the Costume Institute’s exhibition “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion” housed in its usual location, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, the theme is all things Americana – a celebration of homegrown, star-spangled fashion.
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The choice theme comes as Andrew Bolton, curator for The Costume Institute felt it was time to reexamine the American identity in light of several social movements. Bolton explains: “I’ve been really impressed by American designers’ responses to the social and political climate, particularly around issues of body inclusivity and gender fluidity, and I’m just finding their work very, very self-reflective.” For this reason, attending this year’s events are young American designers and Gen-Z tastemakers shaping what is culturally relevant in fashion today.
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This month, New York Fashion Week and Venice Film Festival have all provided plenty for the sartorial eye to feast upon but the stakes are that much higher on the Met Steps, an incomparable red carpet event where fashion history writes itself. And like many Met Galas that have come before, few looks will fall closely in line with its theme (see JLo dressed in cowgirl chic, wearing head-to-toe Ralph Lauren); more will be classically opened to interpretation but all are bound to be statement-making or in the least, a memorable decision.
Find the best-dressed celebrities from the 2021 Met Gala or catch the full event for yourself, streaming exclusively on Vogue.
Gallery originally published on American Vogue.
Editor
Rachelle MaCredit
Lead image: Arturo Holmes/MG21/Getty Images
