Image: Dimitrios Kambouris

Met Gala 2021 Will Be a Two-part Event: Dates, Theme, and More

Met Gala 2021 was initially postponed due to the Covid-19 crisis, but a two-part Met Gala event was announced for 2021 and 2022.

We can’t let fashion await nor suffer. Fashion needs to be seen and displayed as everything that is: color, fabric, and flesh.

This year’s exhibition, called In America: A Lexicon of Fashion, will open this month (September), welcomed by a smaller celebration a few days early.

Here is what you need to know.

Met Gala 2021 Official Date

This year’s Met Gala, In America: A Lexicon of Fashion, will open on September 18. A slightly smaller event will celebrate the grande exhibition on September 13.

Image: Karwai Tang

The second part will air on May 5. Both shows will run through September 5 2022.

Met Gala 2021 Theme

Met Gala 2021 will celebrate American designers, social, cultural, and political events that have happened during the Covid-19 crisis.

Andrew Bolton, the curator in charge of the Costume Institute, released a statement:

“[…] the American fashion community has been supporting us for 75 years, really since the beginning of the Costume Institute, so I wanted to acknowledge its support, and also to celebrate and reflect upon American fashion.”

To recall, the last grande exhibition to cover that theme was the American Ingenuity, back in 1998.

Andrew Bolton’s Vision and Work

Bolton has fed his vision by finding inspiration in Witold Rybczynski’s Home: A Short History of an Idea essay. He’ll transform Met Gala 2021 into an ‘imaginary maison,’ for In America: A Lexicon of Fashion.

How’ll that be displayed?

As per Bolton’s statement for Vogue, every room will incorporate a specific theme, including:

  • warmth
  • joy
  • nostalgia
  • rebellion

An ancestor will occupy the rooms to display the exact vision better.

Met Gala 2021 Hosts

This year’s exhibition will be hosted by honorary chairs Anna Wintour, Tom Ford, and Adam Mosseri. Met Gala 2021 will also welcome Timothee Chalamet, Billie Eilish, Naomi Osaka, and Amanda Gorman as co-chairs.

Due to pandemic guidelines, this year’s event will be smaller than usual with invites following a dress code inspired by American Independence.