Met Gala Theme Announcement for 2024

The Met Gala, the most highly anticipated event of the year awaits! Dating back to the 1940's, the Met Gala is the equivalent to the Oscar's of the Fashion world. The annual fundraising gala is held for the benefit of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute in New York City. Personalities who are perceived to be culturally relevant in Film, Fashion, Television, Music, Theatre, Business, Sports, Social media and Politics, are invited to attend the Met Gala, organised by the fashion magazine 'Vogue'. 

The price to attend the event can cost as high as $50,000 per person. While the dress code and co-chairs for the 2024 Met Gala have yet to be announced, one thing is for certain: Anna Wintour, Vogue editor-in-chief, will once again serve as co-chair and will have final say over the celebrity guest list.

Each year's event celebrates the specific theme of that year's Costume Institute exhibition , which sets the tone for the formal attire of the night. 

The theme for the 2023 Met Gala honoured the polymath designer, Karl Lagerfeld, whose six-decade career changed fashion industry as we know it.

The theme for 2024 has been announced. On Wednesday, 8th November Vogue announced that the upcoming theme for the annual event will be "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion." Some people would associate the theme with Disney, however it's far from that. According to Vogue, the exhibit will be centred around 50 historically significant pieces, some of which are too fragile ever to be worn again. These are the "sleeping beauties". These historical pieces include that Elizabethan bodice and a silk satin ballgown by the American couturier Charles Frederick Worth from 1877 that was the show's original inspiration – will instead be transformed through display. We can expect to see nature, timeless eras, fragile pieces and textures along with sustainable materials, all upholding the legacy of the famous 'Met Gala'. The theme in itself sparks excitement through the fashion industry, as its a chance for history to take place whilst delving into fashion's very own history itself. The night will be a chance to appreciate the delicate beauty that fashion holds, and how historical pieces dating back around 80 years ago will always find a way of reentering the fashion world. 

Nearly 250 items will also be drawn from the Costume Institute's permanent collection, some very rarely seen in public before, featuring designs from Schiaparelli, Yves Saint Laurent, Christian Dior and Givenchy to span 400 years of fashion history. These will lie at the heart of a curation that aims to unstitch and enlighten our understanding of the natural world through the fashioning of dress and textiles.

"This innovative show will push the boundaries of our imagination and invite us to experience many facets of a work, to learn more about its history, and, ultimately, to gain a deeper appreciation of its beauty," said Max Hollein, the Met's Marina Kellen French director and CEO.

Andrew Bolton, Wendy Yu Curator in Charge of The Costume Institute, said: "Fashion is one of the most emotional artistic forms because of its connection to the body. It is imbued with memory and emotions, and we relate to it very much via our senses. One thing I hope this show will activate is that sensorial appreciation of fashion."

The illusion technique known as Pepper's ghost will be used to revivify some historical pieces, while video animation, light projection, soundscaping, AI, CGI and other forms of sensory stimulation will be variously adopted to highlight contextual understanding surrounding each piece. 

Bolton added that the exhibition will focus on three main "zones"- Land, Sea and Sky- as it incorporates the concept of the natural world through craft and the manipulation of natural materials to create garments and fit the 'natural' theme. He said: "It is very much an ode to nature and the emotional poetics of fashion." The contemporary emphasis on sustainability and regenerative forms of production will be represented by recently acquired pieces from some of modern fashion's most innovative creators.

Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion will be made possible by lead sponsor TikTok, with additional support from Loewe, as well as Condé Nast, the publisher of Vogue. It will run from May 10 to September 2 2024, and will open to the public following the May 6 Met Gala, which provides The Costume Institute with its primary source of funding for all activities.

Stay tuned for more!