Every year on the first Monday of May, the biggest names in the fashion world put together a world-famous event that celebrates fashion as the art form it is. The other main goal of the event is to raise money for and spread awareness about the preservation of art by donating to the Metropolitan Art Museum. This event is clearly the Met Gala, which will be taking place on May 6 of this year. Even if you don’t sit down and watch the entire live stream, you’ve certainly opened Instagram the day of and been flooded with pictures of your favorite celebrities dressed for the year’s theme and formed an opinion on their looks. So here’s everything you need to know about this year’s Met Gala before the day arrives.

The first-ever Met Gala was in 1948 and was hosted by fashion publicist Eleanor Lambert as a fundraising event for the Costume Institute. The Costume Institute features exhibitions in the Met Museum and has a collection of more than 33 thousand objects that span over seven centuries of fashionable dress and accessories for men, women and children, from the fifteenth century to the present. The idea to host the event at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and assign it a yearly theme was introduced by Diana Vreeland. Since 1995, the Met Gala has been run by Vogue’s editor-in-chief Anna Wintour who decides the guest list, the dress code, seating arrangements, etc. Back in February, Wintour confirmed that her fellow co-chairs for this year will be Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez, Chris Hemsworth and Bad Bunny.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C3XzzuzA3uv/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

This is a pretty solid lineup in terms of fashionable celebrities and Zendaya has noticeably been absent from the Met Gala since 2019, so fans have been anxiously awaiting her triumphant return. Her collaborations with stylist Law Roach have solidified her place as one of Hollywood’s most fashionable celebrities, making us certain she will nail the theme. Despite Lopez’s phony attempts at seeming relatable and being the butt of many recent TikTok jokes, she has a very credible red-carpet history. Bad Bunny and Chris Hemsworth seem like more wild card choices than their two counterparts. We often see male celebrities showing up to the Met Gala donning nothing more than a simple black tuxedo regardless of the year’s theme. We’ll have to wait and see what they offer on that front.

This year’s dress code is “The Garden of Time” in collaboration with the Costume Institute’s latest exhibit “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion.” The exhibit’s title refers to the assembled time capsule of garments stretching across 400 years of fashion from the Costume Institute, thus digging up or “reawakening” some true relics of fashion history to be put on display. According to Vogue, “The exhibit will feature approximately 250 rare items drawn from the Costume Institute’s permanent collection…The pieces will include designs by Schiaparelli, Dior, Givenchy, and more. Some garments that are too fragile to ever be worn again—such as a Charles Frederick Worth ball gown from 1877—will also be displayed via video animation, light projection, AI, CGI, and other forms of sensory stimulation.”

The exhibit will also be divided into “three main zones” titled Land, Sea and Sky, to reflect upon the natural world. Synchronistically, Wintour’s chosen dress code, “The Garden of Time” also references this appreciation for the earthly elements. Dior and Oscar De La Renta designs will likely embody this theme perfectly. Natalie Portman’s dress at the Golden Globes is a prime example of what Dior could be putting forward for this theme.

The aforementioned designers have very soft and graceful aesthetics, but to take a slightly different but still-on-theme approach, designers like Balmain and Versace would also belong here. These brands would be able to lean into the ornate, vintage look while having a little bit more of a bolder structure or pattern. Balmain did such wonderful work for Margot Robbie on the “Barbie” press tour like her red gown at the Critics Choice Awards or her little pink and black dress at the International Film Festival Film Awards. Balmain still uses floral, garden-esque details, as seen on Robbie, but with a more structured silhouette and bolder, sharper patterns and details. 

Similarly, Versace has great range as a fashion house in terms of how they construct garments and play with shape. An outfit from this brand would add an edge and a sexiness to the dress or outfit they come up with while also playing with pastel colors and draping fabric like that of a Dior gown. Remember Lily James at the 2022 Oscars? That dress combines the delicate, soft look that is expected for the theme while also featuring a more form-fitting style than that of a ball gown.

There is some real creative freedom within this dress code that could produce a wide variety of looks that take the theme into the individual’s hands, while still fitting in with expectations. To reference last year’s Met Gala, Dua Lipa’s elegant Chanel ball gown greatly contrasted Jenna Ortega’s asymmetrical Thom Browne dress, but both of these looks were some of my favorites of the evening and nobody can deny that they were on theme, no matter their differences. The Met Gala will be held on May 6 of this year, and you will most likely be able to watch a live stream held by Vogue if you are interested in watching coverage of the entire night, but if not, make sure to keep your social media apps open to watch the looks come rolling though when the night comes. I can hardly wait to finally have Zendaya back and to see if Met Gala champion Blake Lively makes an appearance after skipping the event last year, but for now, I’ll see you in the garden of time!

Support Student Media

Hi! I’m Annie Gleydura, A Magazine’s editor-in-chief. My staff and I are committed to bringing you the most important and entertaining news from the realms of fashion, beauty and culture. We are full-time students and hard-working journalists. While we get support from the student media fee and earned revenue such as advertising, both of those continue to decline. Your generous gift of any amount will help enhance our student experience as we grow into working professionals. Please go here to donate to A Magazine.