The Met Gala is Coming Back — Twice
The Met Gala is officially back on, kicking off two Met Gala related events coming this fall. The theme of both events and corresponding exhibits is American fashion and, if all goes according to plan regarding coronavirus guidelines, the first of the celebrations will ring in the Costume Institute’s 75th anniversary on September 18th.
Part One of the 2021 Met Gala is called In America: A Lexicon of Fashion, which, according to a statement from The Met, will “explore a modern vocabulary of American fashion.” The show, which will be transparent-walled mise-en-scènes of 20th/21st Century American homes and corresponding fashions within them, will be on display in the Anna Wintour Costume Center from September 18th through September 5th, 2022.
Part Two, In America: An Anthology of Fashion, which chronicles American fashion from the 18th Century through the present, will show in the American Wing period rooms of The Met starting May 2nd, 2022. This part will “explore the development of American fashion by presenting narratives that relate to the complex and layered histories of those spaces.”
“Over the past year, because of the pandemic, the connections to our homes have become more emotional, as have those to our clothes. For American fashion, this has meant an increased emphasis on sentiment over practicality,” Andrew Bolton, the Wendy Yu curator in charge of the Costume Institute, said in the Met press release.
“Responding to this shift, Part One of the exhibition will establish a modern vocabulary of American fashion based on the expressive qualities of clothing as well as deeper associations with issues of equity, diversity, and inclusion. Part Two will further investigate the evolving language of American fashion through a series of collaborations with American film directors who will visualize the unfinished stories inherent in The Met’s period rooms.”
Details pertaining to the upcoming galas are still up in the air, as we’re still in a pandemic. However, the Costume Institute is working with the state of New York to ensure that attendees will be as safe as possible at the parties. But if things continue to improve, we’ll have a fashion-filled fall and spring ahead of us.