Eleanor Lambert, The Woman Who Created the MET Gala

Vogue Arabia

06-05-2025

Upon entering the fashion world, she discovered that American fashion was in its infancy compared to European fashion (New York was nothing compared to Paris), so she decided to put together a list of "best dressed" candidates. To add validity to her list, she put it up to a vote by department store creatives, editors from the most relevant fashion media and the most recognised agencies. The list left out the greatest Hollywood actresses and European royalty, but included heiresses and wives of some of the wealthiest individuals in the United States - a very exclusive selection that exuded sophistication. The result? A New York Times headline confirming that Eleanor Lambert was succeeding: 'The world has a new international centre of fashion.' Little by little, some Hollywood actresses began to make the list and, years later, it included a name that would gain great prominence: Jackie Kennedy. If you've ever wondered who turned John F. Kennedy's wife into a style icon, now you know.
When did the MET Gala begin?
The first gala benefiting the Metropolitan Museum's Met Costume Institute was held in 1948 by Eleanor Lambert. Eleanor Lambert was the very powerful woman who started the event that always gives us the best red carpet moments of the year. Some called her the queen of PR, others the empress of fashion.
How did the MET Gala begin?
The MET Gala was inaugurated in 1948, its original name being 'Gala of the Year,' with the intention of bringing fashion to museums. The event was created to raise funds to benefit the preservation and exhibition of fashion history through the Costume Institute, formerly the Museum of Costume Art, an independent entity founded in 1937. Although the MET Gala is now held every first Monday in May, the first Gala of the Year was organised as a midnight dinner in the fall and was not held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Over the course of the following decades, its venue would move from Rockefeller Centre's Rainbow Room to the Waldorf Astoria.
Eleanor Lambert had another pivotal moment in her career: she founded the CFDA. Yes, the renowned Council of Fashion Designers of America wouldn't exist if it wasn't for her. The council had a single goal: to support and nurture emerging talent. It was under the umbrella of this new project that the MET Gala was born.
At the same time, Eleanor Lambert decided to make her Best Dressed List more official by forming a committee whose members were appointed to choose the names that would become part of what became the International Best Dressed List (and, later, the CFDA Awards). Lambert maintained control of the list until 2003, when, at the age of 99, she decided to hand over the responsibility to Vanity Fair , which continues to publish the list to this day.
Thank you, Eleanor Lambert, for giving us the best red carpet of the year: the MET Gala.
Article originally published on Vogue Mexico