Toast of the City! The annual Met Gala has been fashion’s biggest night since the 1940s — and co-chairing the event has become a coveted title.
The Met Gala was established in 1948 to raise funds for the then newly established Costume Institute. with the help of the trendA longtime partner of the event, the gala has developed into the most talked-about night in the fashion industry.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute has held the gala and related fashion exhibits since the early 1970s, but prior to that the Met Gala was held at various New York City venues, including the Waldorf-Astoria, Central Park, and the Rainbow Room. . ,
The role of celebrity and socialite co-chairs dates back to 1973. That year, there were two events: one in March and one in December, with Phyllis Ellsworth Dillon moderating the second bash (the theme was “The 10s, the 20s, the 30s: Inventive Clothing: 1909–1939.”)
Philanthropist Jane Engelhard was co-chair for the “Romantic and Glamorous Hollywood Design” event and “American Women of Style” in 1974 and 1975, respectively, before Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis brought her beauty to the role in both in 1976.
it wasn’t until 1995 Vogue’s Chief Editor, anna wintour, came in as the president of the Costume Institute. Since 1997, she has co-chaired every Met Gala held in the Big Apple. However, in 2021, the fashion icon stepped back and took on the role of one of the honorary co-chairs for the first time.
“I was so honored when they first asked me to join [with the gala] because it was a tradition the trend Always support Mate,” Wintour told business of fashion In April 2017. “I thought about it with great love and attachment [when I first started at the magazine] And I think clearly we have opened it up to perhaps a bigger world than the world of society, which was Mrs. Gandhi. [Diana] Vreeland was there. It was more society and fashion, and we expanded that.
In the early 2000s, Nicole Kidman found herself among the first Hollywood A-listers whom Wintour asked to co-chair. The honor has evolved over the decades with a 2021 list of co-chairs including actors, athletes and designers.
Poet Amanda Gorman got included in Timothée Chalamet, billie eilish And Naomi Osaka The gala returns in September 2021 as co-chairs, as the 2020 event was canceled amid the COVID-19 pandemic. (The 2021 soiree was pushed to September as the virus continued to spread around the world.)
“We really want people to have fun and enjoy dressing up again,” Wintour said during a good Morning America attendance that month. “We also want to see a lot of freedom and individuality. And a different kind of spirit, something that breaks the rules a little bit.
Ahead of the 2022 event, Wintour reminisced about the Met Gala and its legacy. “To me, the amazing thing about the Met is that it’s such an incredible mix, and there may be a few outlets to turn to the eccentric creations you see on Monday nights, but if you’re a true fashion follower And you look at the carpet, you’ll see it’s a most wonderful mix,” she said during an interview in April 2022. Washington Post, “In that mix, there are really exquisite, couture or ready-to-wear pieces by amazing designers. Not everything is, by any means, a chandelier or a teapot or whatever.
In January 2023, it was announced that dua lipa, Penelope Cruz, Michaela Cole, Roger Federer And Wintour will serve as co-chair for the event in May, which will honor the late Chanel fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld with the theme “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty.”
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Scroll down to see all the celebrities who helped Wintour host and chair fashion on the biggest night of the year:
