The Met Gala, or Met Ball, formally called the Costume Institute Gala or the Costume Institute Benefit, is an annual fundraising gala held on the first Monday of May for the benefit of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute in New York City.
The event honors the particular theme of the Costume Institute exhibition for that year, which establishes the standard for the evening’s dress code.
The 2023 Gala’s theme, titled “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty”, was in honor of the artistic contributions of the late German designer to the world of fashion and traced his evolution; all four co-chairs hailed from Europe.
The Gala is referred to as “fashion’s biggest night” and is widely recognized as the most elite and luxurious fashion event and social gathering in the world.
The fashion magazine Vogue hosts the Met Gala, which is open to celebrities who are deemed to be currently significant to society in a variety of professional fields, including fashion, cinema, television, music, theatre, business, sports, social media, and politics.
Over time, the Met Gala has evolved from the New York epicenter to become increasingly global in its perspective.
The Met Gala was established in 1948 by fashion publicist Eleanor Lambert as a fundraiser for the newly founded Costume Institute to mark the opening of its annual exhibit.
From 1948 to 1971, the event was held at various Manhattan venues, including the Waldorf Astoria, Central Park, and the Rainbow Room.
Here are more photos from this year’s event.
