Lana Del Rey as Alexander McQueen, prisoner of beige veils embroidered with brambles, some of which hang above her head like a mosquito net. Aya Nakamura, in a sheath signed Balmain, decorated with crystal flowers. Gigi Hadid in a Thom Browne corset dress, with a gigantic train, covered with tangled 3D yellow roses… Here are some examples of the looks that we could see, Monday May 6 evening, in New York for the gala of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Met). Most of them respected the “Le jardin du temps” dress code, which echoes the exhibition “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion”, inaugurated that evening by the stars, officially open to the public from May 10.
It’s hard to escape the images of the Met Gala that flood the media and social networks every year on the first Monday in May. This New York charity evening has become an international event whose influence extends well beyond the boundaries of fashion, in the same way that the Cannes Film Festival is not only followed by film buffs.
Launched in 1948 by journalist Eleanor Lambert, the Met Gala aims to raise funds for the Costume Institute, the fashion department of the largest art museum in the United States. American cultural institutions depend less on public subsidies than in France, the Costume Institute must not only finance its operations, but also pay rent to the Met… hence the establishment of a charity gala. In 2023, 22 million dollars (20.44 million euros) had been collected. A record.
Before getting there, its beginnings were modest: in 1948, the entrance ticket cost $50, guests were limited to New York high society and the local fashion industry, the venue changed every year. years. This is still just one charity dinner among many others.
When Diana Vreeland, former editor-in-chief of Vogue American, became a special advisor to the Costume Institute, between 1972 and 1989, she laid the foundations of the recipe that would make it a popular event: attracting stars – Andy Warhol, Diana Ross, Cher –, bringing the evening back to the museum and linking the gala with the launch of a thematic fashion exhibition.
“I attended it when I worked for the magazine new York [dans les années 1980]and it was the most incredible party I have ever seenremembers Anna Wintour, now editorial director of the group Conde Nast. Mme Vreeland brought a real sense of glamour. But, after his departure, it became less interesting, and the institute was no longer able to raise money as before. In 1995, [le designer] Oscar [de la Renta] asked me to intervene. We never say no to Oscar. So, I accepted, without knowing what I was getting myself into. »
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