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Covid-19 has brought every industry to a standstill. Fashion is one of the worst affected. Met Gala, the annual costume festival which was scheduled on the first Monday of every May (4th May, 2020 this year) was postponed indefinitely on 16th March. Even the gates of Metropolitan Arts Museum are closed after two of its employees showed symptoms. Until further notice, a preview of the exhibition will be seen in Vogue’s May issue.

Met Gala 2020 theme was based on Sally Porter movie The Orlandowhich is based on Virginia Woolf’s novel The Orlando and early 20th century philosopher Henri Bergson. The idea was inspired from one of the scenes from the movie where Tilda Swinton shows transition of costumes while entering into a maze wearing 18th century French-style robe to 19th century dress and eventually reaches in 1850s England. Hence the name of the theme is About Time: Fashion and Duration. Curator of costume institute Andrew Bolton’s idea was to present total of 160 garments in two sections- firsthalf to depict all clothing in black thus referring to the time that has gone by and other half section of clothing in white referring to the modern time. The exhibit will look back at the timeline from 1870 until today, covering 150 years into fashion thus coinciding with 150th Anniversary of Met museum. Virginia Woolf serves as a “ghost narrator”. The theme focuses on how a dress not only reflects the time and culture of past but also develops with the time. Andrew here is trying to combine the calendar years with subjective timeline of creativity. In today’s time fashion enthusiasts have expectations like – getting a piece directly and quickly from the runway, designers wish to spend more time in creativity, the need of sustainable fashion is the global need and so the importance of shopping second hand products will be seen in the coming years. This can mean that red-carpet looks can be all classy depicting timeless or it can be clock oriented as we seen in the cover picture. The designers can also lean on to a particular decade or an event in the past and add the touch of modernity.

The Met Gala 2020 was set to be co-chaired by Nicolas Ghesquière, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Meryl Streep, Emma Stone, and Anna Wintour.

Although the MetGala event was cancelled, Vogue’s editor-in-chief and Condé Nast artistic director Anna Wintour decided to take it virtual on Monday 4th at 6 p.m. EST, live streaming all the reminiscent costume looks from the past. This was also named as “A moment with the Met”. Some of the most iconic and memorable red-carpet moments of all time that were shown included Rihanna’s Omelette dress, Billy Porter’s pharaoh’s look, Lady Gaga’s 4-changes last year, not to forget Miley Cyrus cyber punk costume and many more were live streamed. The event also offered a preview of costumes to be held at the exhibition this year. The exhibition is said to include 120 looks that dates back to 1870, the year when Metropolitan Museum of Arts was formed. The Met Museum is expected to open its doors again on October 29, 2020. The virtual Gala was addressed from her drawing-room, followed by a musical performance by Florence Welsh of Florence and the Machine and a DJ set by Off-White and Louis Vuitton men’s designer Virgil
Abloh.

Due to absence of red-carpet event,renowned theatre actor Billy Porter decided to go for an online #MetGalaChallenge where fashionistas across the globe dressed up in their favourite celebrity looks from previous years according to the theme and posted their picture.

Few of Vogue’s favourite social media competition winners are seen below:

@gemmalascano as Zendaya in 2019

@matthewreisman as Katy Perry in 2018

@chicachique as Ezra Miller in 2019

The most awaited first Monday of May of fashion calendar has been one of its kind in the history of Met Gala. Having a moment with the Met, #MetGalaChallenge, moodboards, costumes references, predictions have all been restricted to visuals. This in itself has become a moment in time- About Time.

Until the much-awaited event takes place, here is the recap of one of the best moments on red carpet:

Lady Gaga at the 2019 Met Gala celebrating “Camp: Notes on Fashion”

Rihanna arrives at the 2018 Met Gala in the theme “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination”

Kim Kardashian West, Kylie Jenner, Kendall Jenner, Jeff Bezos and Jared Leto at the 2019 gala themed “Camp: Notes on Fashion”

Deepika Padukone at 2019 gala in the theme “Camp: Notes on Fashion”

Rihanna at 2015’s Met Gala theme “China through the looking glass”. The costume is popularly known as Omelette dress

Miley Cyrus at 2013’s Met Gala themed “Punk: Chaos to Couture”

Cardi B at 2019’s Met Gala themed “Camp: Notes on Fashion”

Rihanna at 2017’s Met Gala theme “Arts of the In between”

Rihanna at 2017’s Met Gala theme “Arts of the In between”