The first Monday of May is no longer the same, nor has any other day been since the coronavirus pandemic that has resulted in indefinite lockdown and restrictions all across the world. The most fashionable annual event for the past 72 years, the Met Gala has been cancelled, and for the first time ever will be held as a virtual event. This year was extra special as the Metropolitan Museum was celebrating its 150th anniversary as well. This year’s event, which would be hosted by Vogue magazine editor, Anna Wintour was set to the theme, “About Time: Fashion and Duration”, and would showcase the journey of fashion from 1870, the year the museum was founded, to present times.
The Met Gala is a fundraiser for the annual fashion exhibit which is curated by the Costume Institute, the Metropolitan museum’s fashion department, which is also the only curatorial department which has to fund itself. In early March, Anna Wintour wrote on Vogue.com, “Due to the unavoidable and responsible decision by the Metropolitan Museum to close its doors, About Time, and the opening night gala will be postponed to a later date.” Adding that the magazine would still be previewing the “extraordinary exhibition” in its May issue.
Although the Met gala may be cancelled, this may be your chance to get a peek into the ongoings of it for the first time ever. Here is all you need to know about how to attend this year’s virtual Met Gala.
When and where is the virtual Met Gala?
The virtual Met Gala took place on Monday at 6 p.m. (EST), and was live-streamed on Vogue’s YouTube channel.
What will happen during the virtual Met Gala live stream?
The live stream took a look back at some of the most iconic and memorable Met Gala red-carpet moments of all time, including breaking down looks, highlighting stars like Rihanna, Sarah Jessica Parker, Lady Gaga and more. The virtual version of the gala will also give a peek into this year’s Costume Institute exhibition, titled “About Time: Fashion and Duration.” The exhibition, which will open to the public in October (according to Anna Wintour during the Met Gala live stream), is said to include 120 looks dating back to 1870.
Who is participating in the virtual Met Gala?
Vogue’s editor-in-chief and Condé Nast artistic director Anna Wintour will kick of the virtual Gala with an address from her drawing-room, this followed by a musical performance by Florence Welsh of Florence and the Machine and a DJ set by Off-White and Louis Vuitton men’s designer Virgil Abloh.
