Women's Lifestyle May 3, 2026 0 Comments

Unmasking the Met Gala: Epic Fashion Battles and Hidden Legends from 1948 to Now You Can’t Miss!

Isn’t it wild how an event shrouded in mystery behind its gilded doors can wield such colossal power over pop culture and fashion? The Met Gala – that glittering spectacle we all secretly (or not so secretly) live for every first Monday in May – is way more than just a fancy dress party. Imagine a night where there’s no awards, no applause, just an exclusive dinner and a performance, yet it commands the world’s attention with jaw-dropping style and star power. It’s like the ultimate red carpet masquerade ball, throwing light on the artistry of fashion while quietly fueling the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. But just how did this glamorous fundraiser evolve into the iconic extravaganza it is today, celebrated now for 78 glorious years? Let’s take a deep dive into its fascinating history and uncover the pulse behind the glitter.

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7 min read

We love a red carpet moment. Few events deliver the full-in fantasy, drama, and spectacle that we crave like the Met Gala. The evening, which famously takes place on the first Monday in May, has become the apotheosis of yearly fashion events—and for a good cause. The party is actually a fundraiser for the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, but what goes inside is mostly kept from public view; that means that the Met Gala is also one of the few (the only?) event that exists solely as a red carpet for the public at large. There are no awards or recognitions being given inside, just a dinner and a performance. And yet the it holds an outsize influence on pop culture and fashion at large. But how did it get to this point? Below we take a brief look at the history of the Met Gala, which this year is celebrating its 78th anniversary.

1937

The Museum of Costume Art is founded by Irene Lewisohn, who had opened the Neighborhood Playhouse in 1914. It was known for its experimental theater, and eventually offered professional acting and dance training. The collection of costumes that it would amass in its lifetime would go on to become the building blocks of the budding museum.

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Students inside the newly-formed Costume Institute.

1946

The Museum of Costume Art became an official part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art following Lewisohn’s death. It was then renamed the Costume Institute as it is known today.

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Eleanor Lambert photographed in 1966.

1948

Eleanor Lambert, the iconic publicist known for also founding the International Best Dressed List, the Council of Fashion Designers of America, and New York Fashion Week, organized the first fundraiser for the evening: a midnight dinner at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel where tickets cost $50 dollars each.

1973

A year after the venerable editor Diana Vreeland took over as a consultant for the Costume Institute, the Met Gala began to form into the more glamorous event we know today. She introduced special themes for the exhibitions, and in 1973 she held two fundraising dinners; one for the “The World of Balenciaga,” in March of that year; and another in December for “The 10s, the 20s, the 30s: Inventive Clothes: 1909–1939.” The latter one would serve as the blueprint for the evening for the next 26 years when the Met Gala started taking place at the Metropolitan Museum of Art itself, rather than Manhattan restaurant, and always took place at the end of the year. According to reports at the time, the evening included “cocktails in the Medieval Sculpture Hall, then dinner (pâté, potage, blanquette de veau, salade and brie) on the balcony of the Great Hall.” Tickets were $100.

Vreeland & Saint Laurent At The Met Gala

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Diana Vreeland and Yves Saint Laurent at the 1983 Met Gala.

1983

The 1983 Met Gala was dedicated to “Yves Saint Laurent: 25 Years of Design,” the first time that an exhibition was dedicated to a living designer. Fittingly, many of the attendees wore their best Saint Laurent—pulled directly from their closets—in what was likely one of the first instances of dressing specifically to honor the theme of the show. Tickets at this event were $500, and there were also $100 tickets available for post-dinner dancing. Vreeland seemed to have spared no expense when it came to decorating, draping the entire room and the dinner tables in lush silk (the very same Saint Laurent used for his creations) in “shades of pink, orange, and red” that made the tables “look like a flower garden.” The dinner menu this time around included, “fillet of beef wrapped in veal, a blend of blue cheese and Brie on toast, and a rich chocolate cake decorated with chocolate curls.” Decadent!

1987

The Costume Institute celebrated its 50th anniversary with an exhibition that highlighted some of the gems from its collection. Its annual fundraising gala, meanwhile, was dedicated to Diana Vreeland. This year guests paid $850 and wore their most extravagant dresses to honor the woman who defined an era of American style. At 83, Vreeland was not able to attend the evening but her spirit could be felt in the decor, which included leopard print-covered chairs, and “centerpieces consisting of crossed arrows supporting fruit sprayed gold.”

1991

There was no proper Gala this year as the Costume Institute galleries were closed; instead there was a pared-back dinner and later champagne and dancing.

1993

Four years after her passing, the Costume Institute mounted, “Diana Vreeland: Immoderate Style,” which was actually dedicated to the editrix, and included images of her magazine layouts, images of people she admired, and even a few of her well-worn and loved clothes, along with ensembles that befit her endless traveling eye. Tickets for the event were $900, and the dinner included caviar, chicken, and something called “pomegranate Diana,” which was no doubt an indulgent dessert.

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Princess Diana and Bazaar editor Liz Tilberis at the 1996 Met Gala.

1996

The exhibition was dedicated to Christian Dior and Liz Tilberis, the then-editor of Harper’s Bazaar was one of the co-chairs. It was the only time that Princess Diana attended the Met Gal, in a navy Dior by John Galliano slip dress with black lace accents and a statement seven-strand pearl choker with a large sapphire and diamond at the center.

1997

Dedicated to the work of the Italian designer Gianni Versace, who had been tragically murdered in July of that same year in Miami Beach, this exhibition was likely one of the few planned with very short lead times. opened just five months after his tragic murder in Miami Beach. At the time, the Gala raised a record $2.3 million for the Costume Institute, with ticket prices soaring to $2,000.

Liv Tyler has a smooch for Stella McCartney at the Costume I

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Liv Tyler and Stella McCartney in their DIY ROCK ROYALTY tanks.

1999

The “Rock Style” Met Gala will perhaps be best remembered by the photograph of Stella McCartney and Liv Tyler in matching home-made ROCK ROYALTY tank tops. The confluence of socialites, philanthropists, celebrites, models, and fashion royalties was already in place to ensure an absolute cultural explosion over the next few decades.

2000

There was no Met Gala this year because the planned Chanel retrospective—which had been masterminded by Richard Martin, the chief curator at the Costume Institute, had passed the previous year.

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Caroline Kennedy at the 2001 Met Gala honoring her mother.

2001

Following the drama of the previous year, the Institute mounted a exhibition dedicated to “Jacqueline Kennedy: The White House Years,” with her daughter Caroline Kennedy and her husband as honorary co-chairs. For the first time the opening was moved to the spring, taking place in April to coincide with Jackie’s 40th anniversary as first lady. Dinner guests paid $3,500 for tickets, but there was also a $300 option which allowed for desserts and dancing.

2002

There was no Met Gala in 2002 as the city still reeled from the after-effects of the September 11 attacks.

Costume Institute Benefit Sponsored By Gucci (Inside)

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Diana Ross at the 2003 Met Gala.

2003

The Costume Institute and the Met Gala returned the following year with the “Goddess: The Classical Mode” exhibition. The decor included crabapple blossom centerpieces and thousands upon thousands of peonies, and the dinner included a performance by Diana Ross along with rack of lamb, vegetables, and strawberries in a “vacherin glacé.”

2005

Five years later, the exhibition dedicated to “The House of Chanel” finally took place, but not without the requisite drama: was it an exhibition or paid advertising? By now, tickets for the event had risen to $5000 each. It was the first Met Gala to take place during the first Monday in May.

"Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty" Costume Institute Gala At The Metropolitan Museum Of Art - Arrivals

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Daphne Guiness in Alexander McQueen at the 2011 Met Gala.

2011

The “Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty” exhibition was one of the most visited exhibitions in the museum’s history, and it was another show mounted after the untimely death of the designer. At the Gala, the Temple of Dendur was decorated with “boxwood hedges and topiary birds,” and the dining tables were “fashioned from wood trestles balanced on tree stumps.” Florence and the Machine performed.

2019

By the time the “Camp: Notes on Fashion” exhibition opened, Met Gala fever had reached an all-time fever pitch, between the dramatic Camp-inspired fashion on the red carpet, its high-profile co-chairs (Lady Gaga and Harry Styles), and social media commentary, it was a night where it really felt like the whole world was watching—and sharing their opinions on social media. Tickets were $35,000 each.

2020

The planned Met Gala and exhibition for this year “About Time: Fashion and Duration” was cancelled due to the Covid pandemic.

2021

The pandemic may have still been going on in 2021, but it did not stop the opening of “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion,” a two-part exhibition planned for 2021 and 2022. The Gala took place in September of that year (with another gala taking place in May 2022 for the second part of the shpw); and one of the requirements for attendees was to have been vaccinated. The guest list had been shrunk significantly to accommodate health concerns.

2023

Karl Lagerfeld passed away in 2019, and in 2023, the Costume Institute mounted an exhibition in his honor. “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty” as it was called, had much of the industry’s heavy-hitters in attendance who gathered to honor the designer who had an outsize influence. Tickets for this evening were reportedly $50,000.

The 2025 Met Gala Celebrating "Superfine: Tailoring Black Style" - Arrivals

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Colman Domingo at the 2025 Met Gala.

2025

“Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,” was the first exhibition at the Costume Institute dedicated to menswear. The Met Gala, co-chaired by Pharrell Williams, Lewis Hamilton, Colman Domingo, A$AP Rocky, and honorary chair Lebron James, earned a record-breaking $31 million dollars.

2026

This year’s Costume exhibit “Costume Art,” related to fashion as portrayed in the works contained in the museum’s collections across from all curatorial departments. The Met Gala will take place on Monday, May 4th, and the dress code is “Fashion is Art.”