Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue Lady Gaga attends The 2019 Met Gala Celebrating Camp: Notes on Fashion at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 06, 2019 in New York City.
After a year-and-a-half, fashion’s biggest night is finally back with a star-studded red carpet celebration of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute exhibit, “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion.”
Vogue has announced that “American Independence” will be the dress code for the 2021 Met Gala.
While the event traditionally occurs on the first Monday of May every year, the 2021 Met Gala will take place on September 13. With a “more intimate affair,” the museum promises to abide by government guidelines after previous cancelations and delays amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Costume Institute Benefit, as it’s more formally called, will start at 5:30 a.m. Eastern.
Vogue has called this year’s co-chairs “Gen Z superstars.” They include Timothée Chalamet, Billie Eilish, Naomi Osaka, and Amanda Gorman. The outlet announced Tom Ford, Adam Mosseri and Anna Wintour will serve as honorary chairs.
Here’s what you need to know:
Red Carpet Coverage of the Met Gala Will Air on E! And Livestream on Vogue
Live coverage of the Met Gala will air on E! starting at 5:30 p.m. Eastern, running for three hours.
According to the “2021 Met Gala: Live From E!” description, it will be “the most extensive coverage of the Gala and more, with coverage from Karamo, Zanna Roberts Rassi, Nina Parker, Brad Goreski, Naz Perez, Phillip Picardi and June Ambrose.”
For those looking for an online option, Vogue is offering “unprecedented access” with its official Met Gala Livestream starting at 5:30 p.m. Eastern. As the outlet explained, “the livestream will allow you to be a part of all the action as megawatt celebrities take to the steps of Metropolitan Museum in their finest attire – all with the simple click of a button.”
Keke Palmer and Ilana Glazer are hosting Vogue’s coverage, which will feature high-profile interviews as stars arrive.
The Met Gala Livestream can be found here or on Vogue’s Twitter Account.
The Met Gala’s Theme Celebrates American Fashion
This year’s Met Gala will focus on American fashion.
As Vogue put it, “After an isolating and challenging year, we are celebrating a newfound sense of freedom: to gather, to travel, and to get utterly dressed to the nines—or better yet, into the double digits. Though we’ve had our share of awards-show gowns through the pandemic, celebrities posing poolside at their homes don’t quite have the same effect as a proper red carpet. The operatic fashion parade on the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art is a wondrous thing to behold.”
“In America: A Lexicon of Fashion” is just the first of a two-part exhibit for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute. When “In America: An Anthology of Fashion” is unveiled in May 2022, Vogue promises “a celebration slated for its storied date of the first Monday in May.” Both exhibits will run through September 5, 2022.
As Max Hollein, the Marina Kellen French Director of The Met, put it, “This two-part exhibition considers how fashion reflects evolving notions of identity in America and explores a multitude of perspectives through presentations that speak with powerful immediacy to some of the complexities of history. In looking at the past through this lens, we can consider the aesthetic and cultural impact of fashion on historical aspects of American life.”