Forget the Oscars or the Emmy's: The biggest night for A-list celebrities is the annual Met Gala. The star-studded affair is one of the hardest tickets to score and delivers some of the wildest ensembles of the year (remember Lady Gaga's 2019 Met Gala look with a 16-minute entrance and four outfit changes?). So, what can we expect for the Met Gala 2020?
What is the Met Gala?
Though most people refer to it as the Met Gala, the official name of the event is the Costume Institute Gala. The first version was held in 1948 as a fundraising event for the newly opened Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute in New York City. The event was originally a midnight dinner and tickets cost less than $100.
It's still a fundraising event today and marks the opening of the Costume Institute's yearly exhibition that center around a certain theme. But it has become a much more glamorous affair since former Vogue editor-in-chief Diana Vreeland became involved in the 1970s. Once Anna Wintour, the current Vogue editor-in-chief, assumed chairmanship of the Institute in 1995, the Met Gala became the most prominent social affair of the year. The fashion icon has helped raise hundreds of millions of dollars for the Institute thanks to her involvement and top-notch guest list. She has been so influential, in fact, they renamed it the museum wing the Anna Wintour Costume Center in 2014.
When is the Met Gala?
By tradition, the Met Gala occurs on the first Monday in May. That means the Met Gala 2020 will take place on May 7. It marks the opening of the new exhibit that will be on display for the public after the event.
What is the Met Gala theme for 2020?
The theme dictates what the stars will show up wearing on the famous museum steps each year. The 2019 Met Gala's theme was "Camp: Notes on Fashion," which spurred Katy Perry's chandelier look and later cheeseburger after-party outfit. The year before was "Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination," which inspired Rihanna's sexy papal ensemble. So, what's the Met Gala theme for 2020?
Since this year will mark the Met's 150th anniversary, the theme will be "About Time: Fashion and Duration." Speaking about the concept, the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute curator, Andrew Bolton, told the New York Times, "It not only reflects and represents the spirit of the times, but it also changes and develops with the times."
Bolton also revealed that the theme is based on Virginia Woolf's works and 20th-century French philosopher Henri Bergson's theories. "What I like about Woolf's version of time is the idea of a continuum," said Bolton. "There's no beginning, middle or end. It's one big fat middle. I always felt the same about fashion. Fashion is the present."
This leaves room for fashion designers to create a myriad of looks for stars to wear. The exhibition itself will feature 160 pieces of women's clothing from the past 150 years.
Who are the hosts for the Met Gala 2020?
Not only does Hollywood's A-list show up for the Met Gala, but they also get involved behind the scenes. In 2019, Bradley Cooper, Blake Lively and Ryan Reynold were on the committee while Harry Styles, Gucci's Alessandro Michele, Serena Williams and Lady Gaga acted as co-chairs. This year, it was announced that Emma Stone, Meryl Streep, "Hamilton" creator Lin-Manuel Miranda and Louis Vuitton's creative director, Nicolas Ghesquière, will be the hosts and co-chairs.