Well collegiettes, you’ve seen the Instagram posts, you’ve read the twitter gossip and yet, there’s still so much to know about this chic, selective and luxurious fashion event. While the music and film industry have the Grammy’s and the Oscars, where more than the actual awards, the fashion can be highly debated – nothing compares to the Met Gala. This ultra-exclusive evening is considered to be the party of the year. From models like Naomi Campbell to Cara Delevingne, entertainment stars like Beyonce and Rihanna to Jennifer Lawrence, and lastly, to the designers such as Karl Lagerfeld and Diane von Frustenberg, not just anyone can attend. Who makes the guest list? Anna Wintour. Some may know her as the most powerful woman in fashion or the inspiration for The Devil Wears Prada, and others may know her as the exclusive editor of Vogue and artistic director of Condé Nast. Yet, when it comes to the Met Gala last night, wearing an ornate red Chanel gown, she is known as the gatekeeper. With a 150- yard red carpet draped across the entry to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC, the New York Times that, “She and her team exert significant control over the guest list, the seating plan, the coverage — deciding which reporters are allowed to go where — and, often, even what selected guests will wear.” While those who are left out of the evening have bitter feelings towards Ms. Wintour, others have respect for this powerful woman. In 1988, when Wintour became Vogue’s fashion editor, she hosted the Met Gala for the first time. From then to now, she has transformed the event throughout the years. No longer is it a simple social dinner of close NYC socialites. Instead, it is a lavish affair of celebrities and designers showcasing fashions best-kept designs in celebration of the Costume Institute- or better known as, “The Anna Wintour Costume Center.”According to the New York Times, this event raises money for the institute of more than $145 million with guests paying around $25,000 per person or a minimum of $175,000 for a table of 10. If that’s not enough to keep some people off the guest list, the Gala’s goal of solidifying a new spring exhibit often becomes the theme for designers and stylists fighting to get their own A-List clientele to meet those standards.
This years new exhibit titled, “China: Through the Looking Glass.” According to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, “This exhibition will explore the impact of Chinese aesthetics on Western fashion, and how China has fueled the fashionable imagination for centuries. High fashion will be juxtaposed with Chinese costumes, paintings, porcelains, and other art, including films, to reveal enchanting reflections of Chinese imagery.”
In celebration of the true beauty of fashion being influenced from around the world, although us collegiettes may not have been invited, we can appreciate catching a glimpse of the Met Gala as influenced by Anna Wintour.