Met Gala: Revisiting most striking past themes before 2024's edition
Met Gala, the grandest celebration of the world of fashion and style has been dominating the international fashion space since 1973. The Met Gala 2023 centered around the theme of Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty and witnessed the participation of Indian actors Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Alia Bhatt, among several other artists. Next year, the theme will be Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion.
This is what it means exactly
Vogue quoted Andrew Bolton, head curator of the Anna Wintour Costume Center at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, who said that the exhibition will focus on "50 historically significant and aesthetically beautiful pieces from the collection that are far too fragile ever to be worn again." This is what "Sleeping Beauties" means. Moreover, the exhibition will focus on three zones: Land, Sea, and Sky.
2019: 'Camp: Notes on Fashion'
In 2019, the "Oscars of Fashion" went with Camp: Notes on Fashion. Chopra Jonas was dressed in a shimmery Dior outfit, while Lady Gaga went through not one, but four outfit changes during the event! Harry Styles broke masculine stereotypes by wearing a black outfit, complemented with rings and a pearl earring. Jared Leto, meanwhile, paraded his own head as part of his ensemble.
2018: 'Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination'
The 2018 event served several over-the-top, exaggerated looks. Since the theme centered around the fusion of religion and fashion, celebrities such as Rihanna, Zendaya, Leto, Lana Del Rey, Lily Collins, and Ariana Grande, among others, channeled their inner celestial beings on the coveted red carpet. Per Vogue, artifices that were put on display were even sent over from the Vatican.
2016: 'Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology'
As the name suggests, this theme was all about technology and the way it can be interwoven with technology. "Manus" refers to "hand," while "Machina" means "machine." While Taylor Swift looked like she belonged to a college punk rock band group in her Louis Vuitton outfit, Emily Ratajkowski, who wore an outfit by Prabal Gurung, dialed up her oomphness to the maximum.
2008: 'Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy'
Turning back the clock by several years, 2008's Gala was built around superheroes. Naomi Watts wore a classic white Dior which was described as "channeling Marilyn Monroe," and in Hollywood, there's no better compliment. Katie Holmes donned a flashy red sequined Armani dress with blue heels, reminding everyone of Superman. André Leon Talley stuck to the theme sincerely and wore a red signature cape.
