Absolutely Everything We Know About the 2022 Met Gala
The event will return to its usual scheduling, taking place next week, on the first Monday of May
This spring, the Met Gala is returning to its usual scheduling, taking place, as is custom, on the first Monday of May, which for 2022 will be Monday 2 May.
As with pretty much every celebrity event, the gala was hugely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, forcing organisers to cancel the fundraising evening in 2020, and opt for a more intimate occasion in 2021, which actually took place in September, rather than May, when restrictions in New York were less severe. But this year, it will be back to business as usual.
Below, we round up everything we know so far about the 2022 Met Gala. From the theme to the hosts and who we can expect to walk up those famous stairs.
What is the Met Gala?
The Met Gala, which is also known as the Costume Institute Benefit or the Met Ball, is a charity event held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City each spring – and always makes for one of the most exciting celebrity-fashion events of the year.
Often dubbed the ‘Oscars of fashion’, the event draws in the biggest A-list names, who will dress according to a set theme, usually in bespoke creations from the world’s most impactful fashion designers. In previous years, guests have dressed to the themes of ‘punk’, ‘camp’ and ‘heavenly bodies’, while there have also been events that have paid tribute to specific designers, including Alexander McQueen and Rei Kawakubo.
The ball tends to raise millions for the Costume Institute at the Met – which holds an annual accompanying exhibition – through the sale of tickets, which are bought by designers and brands. Tickets cost around $35,000 each, with tables ranging from $200,000 to $300,000.
What is the 2022 Met Gala theme?
This year’s Met Gala theme is a continuation of last year’s – and will be held to celebrate the opening of part two of the same exhibition. Both celebrate American fashion, although there is a slight difference between the two sections, and therefore, the two themes.
Part one was entitled ‘In America: A Lexicon of Fashion’ and celebrated the Costume Institute’s 75th anniversary, exploring a modern vocabulary of American fashion. This was the specific theme of the 2021 Met Gala, which saw guests and designers pay tribute to Hollywood stars and American designers.
Part two, ‘In America: An Anthology of Fashion’ — will open in the American Wing period rooms on 5 May 2022. This part of the exhibition will explore the development of American fashion by presenting narratives that relate to the complex and layered histories of those spaces. This will be the theme of the 2022 Met Gala – and will see guests explore a “thoughtful homage to our country’s history”, the press release explained.
“Over the past year, because of the pandemic, the connections to our homes have become more emotional, as have those to our clothes,” Andrew Bolton, the Wendy Yu Curator in Charge of The Costume Institute, said of the exhibition when it was first announced. “For American fashion, this has meant an increased emphasis on sentiment over practicality.”
“Responding to this shift, part one of the exhibition 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. Part two will further investigate the evolving language of American fashion through a series of collaborations with American film directors who will visualise the unfinished stories inherent in The Met’s period rooms.”
The invitations sent out ahead of the gala also gave more detail into the dress code, specifying that attendees must dress for ‘gilded glamour’ and ‘white tie’.
The Gilded Age refers to the period at the turn of the century, between the American Civil War and World War One. It was a time when the American population and the economy grew significantly, but so did corruption and greed, meaning that the very rich lived very well.
It is always difficult to say how the designers will interpret the theme – some will choose to make the references very literal and others will be more subtle – but, with this dress code, we can probably expect plenty of excess and plenty of tradition, and we will likely see the current, unlikely trends of corsets, opera gloves and tiaras spike even further after Monday’s event.
Who is hosting the 2022 Met Gala?
Although the guest list will be kept under wraps until the big night, the Met Gala organisers have revealed who will be hosting the event, meaning we can definitely expect these stars to be walking up that red carpet.
Regina King, Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds and Lin-Manuel Miranda have been named the official co-chairs of the event, while Tom Ford, Adam Mosseri and Anna Wintour will act as honorary co-chairs.
Meanwhile, Zendaya – always one of our favourite stars to watch on the Met Gala red carpet – has confirmed that she will not be attending due to scheduling conflicts. However, fans are hopeful that they will see Rihanna (who has been ripping up the maternity style rulebook) in attendance, while Kim Kardashian West and Pete Davidson are rumoured to be making their first official red-carpet appearance at the event. We will also likely see plenty of Euphoria stars make their Met Gala debuts.
Written by Amy de Klerk for Harper’s Bazaar UK