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October 22, 2021

Met Gala: Themes Over the Years

Themes initially began in 1973 but didn’t truly take hold until Anna Wintour, editorial director and editor-in-chief of Vogue took hold of the gala in 1995. However, the themes are decided by Andrew Bolton, the Met’s Costume Institute’s chief curator. He quotes, “each theme is chosen with the utmost consideration—what story does this tell? What history does it teach?”  When Bolton and his team are happy with a theme, they present it to the museum’s director and president for approval. Once given the go ahead, Bolton and his team present their idea to Anna Wintour. Bolton and Wintour are great allies and he credits her with soliciting the sponsors that would be appropriate for the exhibition – lets be honest that is what brings in the $$$$.

Anna Wintour and Andrew Bolton Photo: Neil Rasmus / BFA.com

Although Bolton may decide the theme, Wintour has the final say on everything from décor and seating charts, to the all-important guest list. Her influence has been so significant that the Costume Institute’s space was renamed The Anna Wintour Costume Center in 2014.

Popular Themes 

  • 1986 Theme: Dance
  • 2001 Theme: Jacqueline Kennedy: The White House Years
  • 2016 Theme: Manus X Machina: Fashion In An Age Xf Technology
  • 2017 Theme: Rei Kawakubo/Commes Des Garçones: Art of the In-Between
  • 2018 Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination
  • 2014 Theme: Charles James: Beyond Fashion
  • 2013 Theme: Punk: Chaos To Couture
  • 2008 Theme: Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy
All photos from /www.bustle.com/style/met-gala-themes-through-the-years-from-camp-to-americana

Below is a table showing past themes, their chairs or co-chars, sponsors and headline performers.

Date of GalaThemeCo-chairsHonorary ChairsSponsorHeadline Performers
March 21, 1973The World of Balenciaga[57][58]NoneNoneGovernment of Spain[59]N/A
December 12, 1973The 10s, the 20s, the 30s: Inventive Clothes: 1909–1939[60][61]Phyllis Ellsworth DillonNoneN/A
November 20, 1974Romantic and Glamorous Hollywood Design[62]Jane EngelhardNoneSCM CorporationN/A
December 10, 1975American Women of Style[63]Jane EngelhardNoneSCM CorporationN/A
December 6, 1976The Glory of Russian Costume[60][64][65]Jacqueline Kennedy OnassisNoneSCM CorporationN/A
December 12, 1977Vanity Fair: A Treasure Trove[60][66][67]Jacqueline Kennedy OnassisNoneHalstonN/A
November 20, 1978Diaghilev: Costumes and Designs of the Ballets Russes[60]Pat BuckleyNoneN/A
December 3, 1979Fashions of the Habsburg Era: Austria-Hungary[60][68]Pat BuckleyNoneN/A
December 9, 1980The Manchu Dragon: Costumes of China, the Chi’ng Dynasty[60]Pat BuckleyNoneN/A
December 7, 1981The Eighteenth-Century Woman[60][69][70]Pat BuckleyNoneMerle Norman CosmeticsN/A
December 6, 1982La Belle Époque[60][71]Pat BuckleyNonePierre CardinN/A
December 5, 1983Yves Saint Laurent: 25 Years of Design[60][72]Pat BuckleyNoneGustave ZumstegN/A
December 3, 1984Man and the Horse[60][73]Pat BuckleyNoneRalph LaurenN/A
December 9, 1985Costumes of Royal India[60][74]Pat BuckleyNoneRatti, Christian Humann FoundationN/A
December 8, 1986Dance[60][75]Pat BuckleyNoneShiseidoN/A
December 7, 1987A Tribute to Diana Vreeland[76]Pat BuckleyNoneReliance Group HoldingsN/A
December 5, 1988From Queen to Empress: Victorian Dress 1837–1877[60][77]Pat BuckleyNoneThe Leslie Fay CompaniesN/A
December 4, 1989The Age of Napoleon: Costume from Revolution to Empire, 1789–1815[60][78][79]Pat BuckleyNoneWolfgang K. FlottlN/A
December 3, 1990Théâtre de la Mode – Fashion Dolls: The Survival of Haute Couture[80]Pat BuckleyNoneWolfgang K. FlottlN/A
December 9, 1991No theme, as no concurrent costume exhibition was held[81]Pat BuckleyNoneN/A
December 7, 1992Fashion and History: A Dialogue[82]Pat BuckleyNoneN/A
December 6, 1993Diana Vreeland: Immoderate Style[83][84]Pat BuckleyNoneN/A
December 5, 1994Orientalism: Visions of the East in Western dress[85][86]Pat Buckley, Oscar de la Renta, Bill BlassNoneN/A
December 4, 1995Haute Couture[87]Anna Wintour, Annette de la Renta, Clarissa BronfmanKarl Lagerfeld, Gianni VersaceKarl Lagerfeld for Chanel, Gianni VersaceN/A
December 9, 1996Christian Dior[88]Elizabeth Tilberis, Marie-Chantal, Crown Princess of Greece, Helene David-WeillNoneDior, LVMHN/A
December 8, 1997Gianni Versace[89][90][91]Anna Wintour, Julia Koch, Patrick McCarthyNoneDavid H. Koch Foundation, VH1, Fairchild PublicationsSting
December 7, 1998Cubism and Fashion[92]Anna Wintour, Miuccia Prada, Paula Cussi, Pia GettyNonePradaN/A
December 6, 1999Rock Style[93]Anna Wintour, Tommy Hilfiger, Aerin LauderNoneTommy HilfigerN/A
April 23, 2001Jacqueline Kennedy: The White House Years[94]Anna Wintour, Christina and Lindsay Owen-Jones, Annette and Oscar de la Renta, Carolina HerreraCaroline Kennedy and Edwin A. SchlossbergL’OréalN/A
April 28, 2003Goddess: The Classical Mode[95]Anna Wintour, Tom Ford, Nicole KidmanNoneGucciN/A
April 26, 2004Dangerous Liaisons: Fashion and Furniture in the 18th Century[96]NoneJacob Rothschild, Jayne WrightsmanN/A
May 2, 2005The House of Chanel[97]Anna Wintour, Karl Lagerfeld, Nicole KidmanCaroline, Princess of HanoverChanelN/A
May 1, 2006AngloMania: Tradition and Transgression in British Fashion[98]Anna Wintour, Christopher Bailey, Sienna MillerRose Marie Bravo, The Duke of DevonshireBurberryN/A
May 7, 2007Poiret: King of Fashion[99]Anna Wintour, Cate Blanchett, Nicolas GhesquièreFrançois-Henri PinaultBalenciagaN/A
May 5, 2008Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy[100][101]Anna Wintour, George Clooney, Julia RobertsGiorgio ArmaniGiorgio ArmaniN/A
May 4, 2009The Model As Muse: Embodying Fashion[102][103]Anna Wintour, Kate Moss, Justin TimberlakeMarc JacobsMarc JacobsN/A
May 3, 2010American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity[104][105][106]Anna Wintour, Oprah Winfrey, Patrick RobinsonNoneGapLady Gaga
May 2, 2011Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty[107][108]Anna Wintour, Colin Firth, Stella McCartneyFrançois-Henri Pinault and Salma HayekAlexander McQueenFlorence and the Machine
May 7, 2012Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations[109]Anna Wintour, Carey Mulligan, Miuccia PradaJeff BezosAmazonBruno Mars
May 6, 2013Punk: Chaos to Couture[110][111]Anna Wintour, Rooney Mara, Lauren Santo Domingo, Riccardo TisciBeyoncéModa OperandiKanye West
May 5, 2014Charles James: Beyond Fashion[112][113][114]Aerin Lauder, Anna Wintour, Bradley Cooper, Oscar de la Renta, Sarah Jessica Parker, Lizzie and Jonathan TischNoneAERINFrank Ocean
May 4, 2015China: Through the Looking Glass[115]Anna Wintour, Jennifer Lawrence, Gong Li, Marissa Mayer, Wendi MurdochSilas ChouYahooRihanna
May 2, 2016Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology[116]Anna Wintour, Taylor Swift, Idris Elba, Jonathan IveNicolas Ghesquière, Karl Lagerfeld, Miuccia PradaAppleThe Weeknd
May 1, 2017Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between[117]Anna Wintour, Gisele Bündchen and Tom Brady, Katy Perry, Pharrell WilliamsRei KawakuboApple, Condé Nast, Farfetch, H&M, Maison ValentinoKaty Perry
May 7, 2018Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination[118]Anna Wintour, Amal Clooney, Rihanna, Donatella VersaceChristine and Stephen A. SchwarzmanChristine and Stephen A. Schwarzman, VersaceMadonna
May 6, 2019Camp: Notes on Fashion[119]Anna Wintour, Lady Gaga, Harry Styles, Serena Williams, Alessandro MicheleNoneGucciCher
Planned for May 4, 2020 (canceled)[120]About Time: Fashion and Duration[121]Anna Wintour, Meryl Streep, Emma Stone, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Nicolas GhesquiereNoneLouis VuittonN/A
September 13, 2021In America: A Lexicon of Fashion[122]Timothée Chalamet, Billie Eilish, Amanda Gorman, Naomi OsakaTom Ford, Adam Mosseri, Anna WintourInstagramJustin Bieber
May 2, 2022In America: An Anthology of Fashion[123]TBATBATBATBA
Source from Wikipedia

1 Comment

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  1. avagg7

    October 24, 2021 — 3:23 pm

    I remember being around when you first discovered that the MET Galas had themes! I honestly didn’t even know what the MET Gala was until my roommate showed me this year, let alone that they had THEMES.

    And now, I get to learn more through you and your inquiry posts! How exciting.

    I really enjoyed seeing some of the themes prior to this years as that was the first and only MET Gala I had ever followed.

    2013 Theme: Punk: Chaos To Couture. WOW. Just the sounds of it sounds like chaos! I would definitely like to see more from this theme.

    Fun project Christie!

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