The first Monday in May has always been the date of the annual Met Gala, the red carpet event known simply as 'fashion's big night out' by those lucky enough to secure a spot on the guest list. Except in 2020, for the first time since 1971, New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art was not able to welcome the starriest line-up of celebrities outside of the Oscars. The Met Gala was cancelled because of Covid-19, and the opening of the accompanying exhibition, About Time: Fashion and Duration, moved to the end of October.
The Met Gala was back, however, in September 2021, with an ambitious two-part event celebrating American fashion, which started last year and will continue into 2022.
The second part of the exhibition, In America: An Anthology Of Fashion, is happening this year and will open with a bang on May 7. The Met Gala's white tie dress code has been announced as 'gilded glamour', with guests being asked according to US Vogue, ' to embody the grandeur - and perhaps the dichotomy - of Gilded Age New York', the period from 1870 to 1890. Both shows - this one and the first part, In America: A Lexicon of Fashion - will run until September 5. The Met Gala's 2022 co-chairs are Regina King, Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds and Lin-Manuel Miranda.
READ MORE: The Met Gala 2021: See All Of The Best (And Most Outlandish) Celebrity Looks
On last year's red carpet, Kim Kardashian stole the show in directional head-to-toe black by Balenciaga. Dan Levy used his outfit - a pastel-coloured, frill-shouldered two-piece by Loewe - to speak about marriage equality; Lil Nas X wore a trio of gold looks from Versace; Amanda Gorman, one of last year's co-chairs, wore striking Vera Wang; and Yara Shahidi, in beaded Dior, paid tribute to Josephine Baker.
While we wait for this year's Met Gala (May 2), desperately remembering the good old days of glamour, take a trip down memory lane, revisiting every theme since 1971...
SEE: Every Met Gala Theme From 1971 - 2021
1971: Fashion Plate1972: Untailored Garments1973: The World of Balenciaga1974: Romantic and Glamorous Hollywood Design Pictured: Cher, 1974
American Women of StylePictured: Pat Buckley
The Glory of Russian CostumePictured: Imelda Marcos and Christina Ford
1977: Vanity Fair: A Treasure Trove1978: Diaghilev: Costumes and Designs of the Ballets RussesPictured: Barbara Walters, 1977
Fashions of the Habsburg Era: Austria-HungaryPictured: Margaux Hemingway and Bernard Foucher
The Manchu Dragon: Costumes of China, the Chi'ng DynastyPictured: Carolina Herrera
The Eighteenth Century WomanPictured: Bianca Jagger
La Belle ÉpoquePictured: Raquel Welch
Yves Saint Laurent: 25 Years of DesignPictured: Carolina Herrera
Man and the HorsePictured: Candy Pratts Price and Chuck Price1984 - Man and the Horse1985 - Costumes of Royal IndiaLa Belle Époque1983 - Yves Saint Laurent: 25 Years of Design1984 - Man and the Horse1985 - Costumes of Royal India
Costumes of Royal IndiaPictured: Cher
1986: Dance1987: In Style: Celebrating Fifty Years of the Costume InstitutePictured: Linda Carter and Blaine Trump
From Queen to Empress: Victorian Dress 1837-1877Pictured: Zandra Rhodes
The Age of Napoleon: Costume from Revolution to Empire, 1789-1815Pictured: Anna Wintour
Théâtre de la Mode: Fashion Dolls: The Survival of Haute CouturePictured: Naomi Campbell
_The gala was held without a theme_Pictured: Calvin Klein and Kelly Klein
Fashion and History: A DialoguePictured: Christy Turlington
Diana Vreeland: Immoderate StylePictured: Joan Rivers
Orientalism: Visions of the East in Western DressPictured: Oscar de la Renta and his stepdaughter Eliza
Haute CouturePictured: Princess Diana
Christian DiorPictured: Iman
Gianni VersacePictured: Salma Hayek
Cubism and FashionPictured: Sigourney Weaver
Rock StylePictured: Liv Tyler and Stella McCartney
Jacqueline Kennedy: The White House YearsPictured: Naomi Campbell
Goddess: The Classical ModePictured: Stella McCartney and Kate Hudson
Dangerous Liaisons: Fashion and Furniture in the 18th CenturyPictured: Eva Mendes
The House of ChanelPictured: Nicole Kidman
AngloMania: Tradition and Transgression in British FashionPictured: Sarah Jessica Parker
Poiret: King of FashionPictured: Lucy Liu
Superheroes: Fashion and FantasyPictured: Taylor Swift
The Model As Muse: Embodying FashionPictured: Winona Ryder
American Woman: Fashioning a National IdentityPictured: Mila Kunis
Alexander McQueen: Savage BeautyPictured: Emma Stone
Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible ConversationsPictured: Amber Heard
Punk: Chaos to CouturePictured: Kate Beckinsale
Charles James: Beyond FashionPictured: Rita Ora
China: Through the Looking GlassPictured: Beyoncé
Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of TechnologyPictured: Zayn Malik and Gigi Hadid
Comme des Garçons's Rei KawakuboPictured: Rihanna
Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic ImaginationPictured: Cynthia Erivo
Camp: Notes on FashionPictured: Kim Kardashian
In America: A Lexicon of FashionPictured: Yara Shahidi
VIEW MORE: 9 Ways To Get An Invite To The Met Gala: