The First Monday in May: A Met Gala Introspective

A scene from last year's Met Gala

For fashion lovers around the world, the annual Met Gala represents the pinnacle of fashion, celebrity and the arts as the biggest names in design, film and music ascend the red-carpeted stairs of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City in the most decadent haute couture. Last year's theme, China: Through the Looking Glass, examined the intersections between Western and Chinese fashion and culture, with a sprawling exhibit that spanned the Met's entire Asian art wing and featured the works of Yves Saint Laurent, Karl Lagerfeld, Guo Pei and more. Looking Glass' wildly successful and positive reception from the public–the exhibit drew in 815,992 visitors, becoming the fifth most-visited exhibit in Met history.

Rihanna as the belle of the ball in her canary yellow, custom-made Guo Pei gown at the 2015 Met Gala

As a precursor to this year's Costume Institute exhibit, the all-access Met Ball documentary The First Monday in May was premiered on April 13th at the Tribeca Film Festival (watch the trailer here). The film provides an extensive behind-the-scenes tour of everything from the hectic planning process to the red-carpet and celebrity clad debut of the Looking Glass exhibit.

A interior snapshot of the Looking Glass exhibit.

This year's highly anticipated exhibit Manus x Machina: Fashion in the Age of Technology, will observe the dichotomies between haute couture or hand made versus machine made fashion. Over 100 looks will be featured by some of the most influential names in the industry and will undoubtedly epitomize decades of fashion history. Cochairs Idris Elba, Jonathan Ive, Taylor Swift will join fashion industry leaders and Anna Wintour and honorary chairs Nicholas Ghesquière, Karl Lagerfeld and Miuccia Prada.

Will you be in NYC over the summer? Swing by the Manus x Machina exhibit in the Met's Costume Institute and let us know what you think!

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