You ever stumble across a faded photo of the 1970s Met Gala and do a double take? It’s barely recognizable compared to the flashbulb frenzy we know now. I’ve been covering this event since the late 90s, and the shift from quiet fundraiser to global spectacle isn’t just a change in guest lists — it’s a full-on cultural reset.
A Brief History of the Met Gala
The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute Benefit, better known as the Met Gala, kicked off in 1948 as a quiet little fundraiser for the institution’s fashion collection. No flash, no frenzy, just a small crowd of society figures and philanthropists scribbling checks, zero mainstream fanfare for its first three decades. That all shifted irrevocably in 1974, when Vogue editor Diana Vreeland took charge of creative direction. She imposed strict invitation rules, lured every A-list Hollywood star she could get her hands on, and transformed the gala into a glitzy prelude to the museum’s annual costume exhibition. Then came 1995: Anna Wintour assumed the chair role, cementing the event’s status as the most scrutinized night in global fashion. You don’t get more influential than that.
1970s: The First Wave of Iconic Looks
That first Vreeland-led 1974 gala, themed "Romantic and Glamorous Hollywood Design", set the template for every sartorial risk-taking stunt that followed. Cher arrived in a barely-there Bob Mackie gown crusted with crystals, feathers trimming the hem, a look that’d define her public image for years. Who could forget that? Bianca and Mick Jagger turned heads as a matching pair that same night: Bianca in a crimson Halston gown, the kind of look Anna Wintour later cited as proof Mick was the designer’s ultimate muse. Five years later, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis leaned into her decades-long friendship with Valentino Garavani, wearing a black silk sleeveless gown with a matching diaphanous cape for the Habsburg Fashion exhibition opening. They’d first worked together back in ’64, right after Onassis moved to New York following her first husband’s assassination, commissioning six custom looks from the designer. Imagine having that kind of creative shorthand with a fashion house?
1990s: Couture Meets Global Stardom
The 1995 gala, dedicated to haute couture, marked a full-throttle collaboration between Naomi Campbell and Gianni Versace. Campbell wore a shimmering floor-length bustier gown from Versace’s spring 1995 couture collection, sheer side panels catching every light in the room. Versace called Campbell the embodiment of his ideal woman more times than I can count, and she’d later say wearing his designs was a point of personal pride. Can you blame her? Those pieces were built for her stride.
A year later, Princess Diana made her final public appearance at the gala, themed around Christian Dior’s body of work. She wore a slip dress by then-creative director John Galliano, paired with her signature seven-strand pearl and sapphire necklace and a Dior clutch. The event was six months before her death in that Paris car crash — a detail that hangs over the look every time you see the photos. 1997’s gala became a tribute to Versace after his July murder: Salma Hayek arrived in a form-fitting black Versace gown with a deep neckline, open-toe sandals, and a silk cape, honoring the designer who’d dressed her for years. She looked devastated, but poised — you could tell it wasn’t just a dress, it was a goodbye.
2000s: Provocation and Personal Narrative
2003’s "Goddess: The Classical Ideal" theme saw Scarlett Johansson lean into old Hollywood glamour in a lemon silk Calvin Klein gown, slicked-back hair and open-toe sandals completing the look. Simple, elegant, no gimmicks — rare for the era. By 2006, the event was leaning hard into bold thematic statements: that year’s "Anglomania: Tradition and Transgression in British Fashion" had Alexander McQueen and Sarah Jessica Parker in his designs, the designer exploring his Scottish heritage through collections that nodded to the country’s darker historical epochs. McQueen never did anything halfway, did he?
2008’s "Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy" theme inspired Anna Wintour to wear a futuristic silver Karl Lagerfeld gown — a nod to fashion as a transformative, power-bestowing force. Fitting, for the woman who runs the whole show. The 2011 gala paid tribute to McQueen after his 2010 suicide: Gisele Bundchen and then-husband Tom Brady arrived in matching McQueen looks, Bundchen in a vivid red gown with a sweeping train that seemed to go on for miles. 2012’s "Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations" theme had Marc Jacobs defying all expectations, wearing a sheer lace form-fitting Schiaparelli dress. He shrugged off the criticism later: "It’s just a lace dress. I didn’t want to be boring and wear a tuxedo on the red carpet." Typical Jacobs — why follow the rules when you can break them?
2010s: Viral Spectacle and Camp Excess
The 2015 gala, themed around Chinese motifs, produced two of the most widely shared looks in the event’s history. Rihanna arrived in a voluminous yellow Guo Pei gown with a trailing cape, trimmed with fur and hand embroidery that took 20 months to complete and weighed 25 kilograms — a piece Guo Pei later said "can only be worn by women who have the Queen’s trust." It flooded social feeds within minutes of its debut. You couldn’t scroll two seconds without seeing that cape. Beyonce arrived last that evening in a sheer Givenchy gown crusted with multicolored crystals, living up to the adage "last but not least" as photographers clamored to capture the garment’s iridescent glow. She knew exactly how to steal the remaining spotlight.
2016’s "Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology" brought experimental takes on tech’s influence: Claire Danes wore a Zac Posen gown that glowed in the dark, Emma Watson opted for a dress made from recycled plastic, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West arrived in coordinated Balmain looks, Kardashian in a silver gown and West in a matching jacket and jeans. Practical? Maybe not. Memorable? Absolutely.
The 2018 "Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination" gala spawned a "holy trinity" of Gucci-clad guests: creative director Alessandro Michele, Lana Del Rey, and Jared Leto all wore looks from the brand’s white-and-blue palette. Leto wore a suit with black lapels adorned with large brooches and a gold tiara; Del Rey opted for a white lace-hemmed gown with a beaded hem, her hair styled with a halo and bird wing accessory; Michele wore a white suit with blue lapels and gold embroidery. They looked like they’d stepped out of a Renaissance painting, honestly.
2019’s "Camp: Notes on Fashion" gala featured Lady Gaga’s now-legendary transformable Brandon Maxwell look: she started the red carpet in a massive fuchsia cape, then stripped down to a black bustier dress, a pink mini dress, and finally a diamond-encrusted lingerie set. Four looks in one night — who else would even attempt that? Other standout moments included Leto carrying a replica of his own head, Ezra Miller sporting a face painted with seven eyes, and Hamish Bowles in a hand-painted cape. Camp at its purest, no doubt.
2020s: Modern Statements and Archival Tributes
The 2021 gala, focused on American fashion, saw Billie Eilish channel old Hollywood in a voluminous Oscar de la Renta gown, evoking Marilyn Monroe’s golden era. Eilish famously required the brand to pledge to stop using real fur before agreeing to wear the design — a small act of activism that got almost as much attention as the dress itself. 2022’s "Gilded Glamour" theme, referencing 19th-century U.S. economic boom years, had Kim Kardashian wearing the archival Jean Louis gown Marilyn Monroe wore when she sang "Happy Birthday" to John F. Kennedy in 1962. Controversial? Sure. Iconic? Without a doubt.
The 2023 gala paid tribute to Karl Lagerfeld, who died in 2019: Dua Lipa, a longtime admirer of the designer, wore an archival Chanel spring/summer 1995 couture gown. Last year’s "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion" theme produced the most talked-about look of the night: Zendaya in a Maison Margiela gown by John Galliano, styled by Law Roach. That woman can do no wrong on the red carpet, can she? That same year, Lana Del Rey wore a piece from Alessandro Michele’s debut Valentino haute couture collection, slated for spring/summer 2025, with Michele accompanying her on the red carpet. Del Rey nodded to her relationship with Louisiana alligator hunter Jeremy Dufrene with a gold alligator hair accessory, pairing the piece with a black velvet and satin gown. It was a tiny personal detail in a sea of over-the-top looks — and somehow, it stood out more than most.
What Lies Ahead for 2024’s "Fashion is Art" Gala?
This year’s May 4 gala, themed "Fashion is Art", explicitly ties centuries of tailoring to the traditions of painting and sculpture. Will guests lean into literal interpretations of famous artworks, slapping prints of Van Gogh’s starry night on a ball gown? Or will they take the theme as a license for abstract, sculptural silhouettes that barely look wearable? If history is any guide, we’ll get both: quiet elegance that makes you catch your breath, and boundary-pushing spectacle that leaves you scratching your head in the best way possible. The kind of moments that linger in cultural memory long after the last guest leaves the museum’s steps. After all, is there any other event where a gown can be both a piece of wearable art and a global headline within minutes of its debut? I’ve covered enough of these to know: you never know what’s coming, and that’s exactly why we keep watching.
