The Costume Institute Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, AKA The Met Gala, AKA the biggest event in the fashion calendar is happening tonight.
The fundraising event, originally founded to encourage donations to the Costume Institute, is primarily a fashion show for the elite faces of film, modelling, and music to showcase not what but who is on trend. Expect to see the likes of the Hadid sisters, Kendall Jenner, Cara Delevigne et al clad in as much designer garb as they can get their hands on, basking in their It Girl status.
The gala officially serves as the opening night for the Costume Institute’s latest exhibition, and it’s the title of this exhibition that gives the gala its theme. Attendees are expected to emulate the theme without going full halloween party level of fancy dress.
In previous years we’ve seen a member of One Direction tackle Manus x Machina: fashion in the age of technology, Rihanna wearing a coat resembling a fabergé egg more than an outfit, and Kendall Jenner dressed in essentially nothing in the name of Instagram likes.
This year the theme is Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination and the exhibition is expected to display 40 Vatican vestments and accessories, spanning 15 papacies. It’s probably going to be the most controversial carpet yet.
In the exhibition these religious vestments will be displayed alongside couture pieces designed by fashion royalty (Galliano, Versace, and Balenciaga to name but a few).
This blurring of boundaries between the sacred and the secular will surely ignite tensions. On the carpet we should be prepared for celebrities who favour a more literal interpretation of the theme to arrive dressed like the pope. As for the rest, who usually rely on subtle nods to the theme, we can expect a lot of red, white, and gold and some catholic iconography in the accessories.
To kick everything off, we’ve rounded up the best looks from last year.
The theme was Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons, a celebration of one of the most innovative designers in the past 50 years. What we were expecting: playing around with unusual shape and structure, strong block colours. What we got: Kendall Jenner’s ass.
Gigi Hadid wearing Tommy Hilfiger
Zendaya wearing Dolce & Gabbana
Solange Knowles wearing Thom Browne
Rihanna wearing Comme des Garçons
Katy Perry wearing Margiela
Kendall Jenner wearing La Perla
You can watch the Met Gala carpet live on Vogue’s Instagram story
Image: Met Gala
