We are months away from enjoying one of the most significant fashion events in the United States, and more details have surfaced. The Metropolitan Museum of Art announced its highly anticipated annual fashion celebration would return with Timothée Chalamet, Billie Eilish, Naomi Osaka, and Amanda Gorman as co-hosts. Also Tom Ford, Adam Mosseri, and Anna Wintour will serve as the honorary chairs.
The two-part exhibition will host guests in an intimate event on September 13, 2021, and months later will hold a larger event on May 2, 2022. The first part will be open to the public on September 18 under the name “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion” as a celebration of the 75th anniversary of the museum’s Costume Institute. The exhibition will “explore a modern vocabulary of American fashion,” according to the museum.
“Met Gala here we come 🙏🏿 honored to co-host alongside giants,” said Gorman on Instagram.
As reported by Vogue, the appointment of Timothée Chalamet, Billie Eilish, Naomi Osaka, and Amanda Gorman comes thanks to their fashion choices and for being the definition of “American style: individualism.”
“They may approach the concept differently, but their shared passion for expressing themselves through clothing connects with the exhibition’s theme,” the publication informed. “Chalamet, Eilish, Osaka, and Gorman have all developed a distinct visual language for their public personas, one that is informed by the legacy of iconic fashion made in the U.S.A.”
For the second part of the Met Gala, the museum will showcase “In America: An Anthology of Fashion,” starting May 5, 2022. The exhibit will explore American fashion in-depth, and the Met will be “presenting narratives that relate to the complex and layered histories of those spaces.”
“Over the past year, because of the pandemic, the connections to our homes have become more emotional, as have those to our clothes,” exhibit curator Andrew Bolton said in a statement. “For American fashion, this has meant an increased emphasis on sentiment over practicality.”
According to Bolton, the first part will establish “a modern vocabulary of American fashion based on the expressive qualities of clothing as well as deeper associations with issues of equity, diversity, and inclusion.” While Part Two will “further investigate the evolving language of American fashion through a series of collaborations with American film directors who will visualize the unfinished stories inherent in The Met’s period rooms.”
The Metropolitan Museum of Art also revealed this year’s dress code. According to Vogue, American Independence is setting the rule of what should be worn on September 13. “The dress code is meant for fashion rebels and rule breakers,” the publication informed.