The first Met Gala: How 'fashion's biggest night' was actually birthed

Hindustan Times

03-05-2025

You can't ignore the first Monday of May, each year, year on year, even if you're someone who harps on their minimal ties to the self-serving, plush universe of sartoria and fashion. And for the naysayers and peripheral cursory onlookers, if the momentous Met Gala with its decades long legacy has managed to achieve anything at all, it's this —bringing the world to a halt, because you just have to look.
So what does it take to make something as vague as 'the first Monday of May', a bona fide institution? How does one even go about birthing something as all-encompassing as 'fashion's biggest night' and have the hyperbole, not really be a hyperbole after all?
All of this to ask — where did it all begin?
A fundraiser. The brainchild of fashion publicist Eleanor Lambert, the first ever Met Gala was hosted at the old world Waldorf Astoria, in New York, December 1948. More than a very serious fashion parade, the event was a midnight dinner, tickets to which cost $50 — a princely sum back in the day. The intention behind the gala at the time, was to raise funds for the Costume Institute's expenses, also ensuring a high-ranking, well-placed audience for its annual exhibit. Marketed as "the party of the year", this is essentially a masterclass in self-sustaining brand building.
So at what point did the Met Gala move away from socialite territory to truly, the business of fashion? The 70s. That's when Vogue editor-in-chief Diana Vreeland turned special consultant to the Costume Institute. Between 1972 and 1989, the theme of, well, having themes was woven into the legacy of the Met Gala.
As a matter of fact, the first theme was established for the 1973 Gala — The World of Balenciaga, to honour the great Cristóbal Balenciaga, a year after his death. The themes eventually got increasingly specific, with Diana's reign spanning Russian revelry, Slavic sartoria, Old Hollywood glam and many other year-defining thematic brainstorms. This was also the period in which celebrity involvement with the Met Gala commenced — First Lady Jackie Kennedy, who served as a co-chair from 1977 to 1978, makes for as posh an example as can be.
Mid-90s is when Anna Wintour took over. And boy did she push the accelerator on hardcore, mainstream celebrity involvement. The status the Met Gala enjoys today, is painstakingly the work of Anna, utilising raw celebrity star power to blow up the yearly exhibits to global glory.
This year, the theme is 'Superfine: Tailoring Black Style', with the expectation from attendees being that they use their ensembles to honour Black fashion heritage, dandyism, and personal identity. Androgyny is expected to be a major undercurrent in the silhouettes that roll up to the red carpet. That being said, the sky is the limit when you allow and encourage the space and grace to temper such complex chapters of fashion history, with strong personal style.
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