In a context of normality, the first Monday of May would have been a day of celebration for fashion.
In fact, it is the day on which the Costume Institute Gala of Metropolitan Museum of Art‘s, or Met-Gala for everyone, was to take place.
Last year it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic but this year the world’s most important and exclusive fundraiser will happen.
The date is September 13, and the Met-Gala 2021 co-chairs who will flank honorary chairs Tom Ford, Adam Mosseri and host Anna Wintour have also been announced: singer-songwriter Billie Eilish, actor Timothée Chalamet, tennis player Naomi Osaka and poet Amanda Gorman.
This year’s edition will be more intimate than the previous ones, but obviously not without significance. In fact, the “protagonist” of the Met-Gala 2021 will be Generation Z, given the co-chairs announced.
The September 13th event will also mark the opening of the Costume Institute’s exhibition which will be divided into two parts: the first one, “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion” which will be inaugurated on September 18th and will pay homage to the 75th anniversary of the Costume Institute and will go to the re-discovery of modern American fashion while the second part, “In America: An Anthology of Fashion” which will be inaugurated in 2022 on the historic date of the first Monday of May, will delve into its development.
Exhibition curator Andrew Bolton told The New York Times, “We wanted this to be a celebration of the American fashion community, which suffered greatly during the pandemic. And that very fashion has often been dismissed with a certain haste, because of its historical association with the field of sportswear, and therefore with practical and functional clothing, while European fashion has always been considered the territory of creativity and emotion. In my opinion, however, American fashion is entering its own Renaissance, with young American designers at the forefront of current discussions about diversity, inclusion, sustainability and conscious creativity. I find that tremendously exciting”.
About the four co-chairs, Vogue US wrote, “They may approach the concept differently, but their shared passion for expressing themselves through clothing connects to the exhibition’s theme. Chalamet, Eilish, Osaka and Gorman have developed a distinct visual language for their public personas, inspired by the legacy of iconic fashion made in the USA”.
