What is on the first Monday in May?

An in-depth look at fashion's biggest night

Every year on the first Monday in May, the Met Gala takes place. What is the Met Gala? I'm so glad you asked. The Met Gala was founded in 1948, and has continued to be thrown annually. Today, Vogue Magazine throws the event each year and is ran by their editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour. The gala is at its core, a fundraiser. All of the attendees of the event have to buy a very expensive ticket, with the funds going to the Metropolitan Museum of Arts Costume Institute. The event was always a black tie, glamorous affair, but at some point between black tie and now, the gala became less about the fundraising and more about the fashion of it all.

Everyone Loves a Theme

In 1971, the Met Gala was held at the Met Museum for the first time and with that came their very first theme - Fashion Plate. This theme which was defined as "a person who dresses very fashionably" set the precedent for all future galas. The added aspect of a theme with the Met Gala elevated it from a fundraiser attended by the rich and famous, to the biggest night in fashion. As time has gone on, the themes have become more and more elaborate and with that, so have the costumes.

As someone who has never and most likely will never be invited to the Met Gala, adding a theme each year gives a way for us commoners to feel involved in the night. Those who are excited by fashion and pop culture look forward to the announcement of the theme each year and have come to hold the attendees to high standard when it comes to following the theme. Some of the most notable themes to date are so follows:

-Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination (2018)

-Camp: Notes on Fashion (2019)

-Romantic and Glamorous Hollywood Design (1974)

-Haute Couture (1995)

Everyone's a Critic

Guests of the Met Gala are encouraged to take the theme seriously in order to pay homage to the Costume Institute at the Met. If this is alone is not reason enough to dress on-theme, then the social media judges might be the push attendees need to bring their A-game. Since the age of social media, it has become tradition for those who are interested to tweet their live reactions to celebrities walking down the famous Met steps debuting their outfits. Twitter has been known to be vary harsh to those who do not follow the theme and choose to just wear a pretty gown instead.

Met Gala 2023

This year, the Met Gala theme will be "Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty" in honor of the late designer. Lagerfeld was the head of multiple of the major fashion houses including Chanel and Fendi. Designers will be taking inspiration from his designs when dressing the stars attending this years gala. It has also now become a tradition to have co-chairs of the event, with this year's being Dua Lipa, Michaela Coel, Penelope Cruz, and Roger Federer.

To close off, I wanted to share some of my favorite Met Gala looks from over the years. Enjoy!