In a world without COVID-19, this weekend would have marked one week before the 2021 Met Gala.
In a normal non-pandemic world this week would have been packed full of nail and hair appointments for the socialites of the celeb world as they prepare for “fashion’s biggest night out” as VOGUE affectionately labels it.
Unfortunately due to COVID-19 restrictions that are still in place globally, the infamous fashion gala has been postponed until the second Monday of September later this year in the hope that the event will be able to safely go ahead.
The infamous steps at the Metropolitan Museum
The 2021 and 2022 Met Galas will both follow the theme of American Fashion.
The two Met Galas will be the first to share a theme and will be seen in two parts.
The first part, “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion” will be exhibited in the Metropolitan Museum in New York City from the September 18, 2021 and close on May 5, 2022.
The curator responsible for the Costume Institute, Andrew Bolton said in a statement that “Part One of the exhibition will establish a modern vocabulary of American fashion based on the expressive qualities of clothing as well as deeper associations with issues of equity, diversity, and inclusion.”
Andrew Bolton, The Met’s Costume Institute curator.
This suggests that we could expect to see celebrities in patriotic symbolism of America but also leaves ambiguity for the stylists to play with the idea of “equity, diversity and inclusion.”
The costumes for this year’s event could have a heavy political aspect after what seems to be a year of political change during the course of the pandemic after 2020 saw more Black Lives Matter protests than ever before after the tragic murder of George Floyd.
Andrew Bolton later stated, “Over the past year, because of the pandemic, the connections to our homes have become more emotional, as have those to our clothes. For American fashion, this has meant an increased emphasis on sentiment over practicality.”
The Metropolitan Museum
The 2022 Met Gala will hopefully return to the first Monday of May, May 2, 2022, and is titled, “In America: An Anthology of Fashion.”
The second part of the In America theme will be displayed in the Metropolitan Museum May 5, 2022 until the next Met Gala in 2023.
We can expect the second part to “feature women’s and men’s historical and contemporary dress dating from the 18th century to the present in vignettes installed in select period rooms,” according to a statement released by The Costume Institution.
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