After the 2020 Met Gala was canceled amid the coronavirus pandemic, the 2021 event became one of the most highly anticipated celebrity events in years. After skipping a year and the 2021 Met Gala being postponed for four months, fans are eager to see what A-listers will be wearing to the “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion” event — and who will have the best and worst looks of the night. Allow us to give you a front row seat to the most and least fashionable folks of the evening.
The star-studded event — which was moved from its usual first Monday in May to Monday, September 13 — is co-chaired by singer Billie Eilish, actor Timothée Chalamet, tennis pro Naomi Osaka and inaugural poet Amanda Gorman.
The theme — “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion” — corresponds to part one of a two-part fashion exhibit coming to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2021 and 2022. The first part will honor the Costume Institute’s 75th anniversary and debut on September 18, five days after the gala.
The exhibit will highlight the exploration of modern fashion in America. Part two of the exhibit — titled “In America: An Anthology of Fashion” and slated for 2022 — will go back in time to focus on American fashion development.
“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, head curator of the Costume Institute, previously explained in a statement about the exhibits and Met Gala themes. “For American fashion, this has meant an increased emphasis on sentiment over practicality.”
The art pro added, “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 visualize the unfinished stories inherent in The Met’s period rooms.”
The fashion is sure to differ from 2019’s “Camp: Notes on Fashion” event, but there’s no denying the charm in these looks.
Scroll through the gallery below to see all of the best and worst dressed celebrities at the 2021 Met Gala!