After being canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Met Gala finally came back on Monday night, and celebrities (with their epic looks) did not disappoint. The guests showed up to the legendary red carpet to honor this year’s exhibit, In America: A Lexicon of Fashion.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 13: Iman attends The 2021 Met Gala Celebrating In America: A Lexicon Of Fashion at Metropolitan Museum of Art on September 13, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images)
While usually held on “the first Monday in May”, the Met Gala was held in late summer this year in New York City, as the monumental event has been split into two parts for its grand return. As theGrio previously reported, this is the first installment at The Met, with Monday night’s theme entitled, In America: A Lexicon of Fashion, which celebrated, “all things American fashion.”
With a virtual live-stream hosted by Keke Palmer and Ilana Glazer, the Gala featured show-stopping appearances from celebrities like Rihanna, J. Lo, Lil Nas X,and more.
Co-chair Amanda Gorman attends The 2021 Met Gala Celebrating In America: A Lexicon Of Fashion at Metropolitan Museum of Art on September 13, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images)
Aurora James and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Aurora James and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez attend The 2021 Met Gala Celebrating In America: A Lexicon Of Fashion at Metropolitan Museum of Art on September 13, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images)
ASAP Rocky and Rihanna
ASAP Rocky and Rihanna attend The 2021 Met Gala Celebrating In America: A Lexicon Of Fashion at Metropolitan Museum of Art on September 13, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue )
Chloe Bailey and Halle Bailey
Chloe Bailey and Halle Bailey attend The 2021 Met Gala Celebrating In America: A Lexicon Of Fashion at Metropolitan Museum of Art on September 13, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images)
Frank Ocean
Frank Ocean attends The 2021 Met Gala Celebrating In America: A Lexicon Of Fashion at Metropolitan Museum of Art on September 13, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images)
Gabrielle Union
Gabrielle Union attends The 2021 Met Gala Celebrating In America: A Lexicon Of Fashion at Metropolitan Museum of Art on September 13, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images)
Iman
Iman attends The 2021 Met Gala Celebrating In America: A Lexicon Of Fashion at Metropolitan Museum of Art on September 13, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images)
Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lopez attends The 2021 Met Gala Celebrating In America: A Lexicon Of Fashion at Metropolitan Museum of Art on September 13, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images)
Keke Palmer
Keke Palmer attends The 2021 Met Gala Celebrating In America: A Lexicon Of Fashion at Metropolitan Museum of Art on September 13, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images)
Lil Nas X
Lil Nas X attends The 2021 Met Gala Celebrating In America: A Lexicon Of Fashion at Metropolitan Museum of Art on September 13, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images)
Megan Thee Stallion
Megan Thee Stallion attends The 2021 Met Gala Celebrating In America: A Lexicon Of Fashion at Metropolitan Museum of Art on September 13, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images)
Naomi Osaka
Co-chair Naomi Osaka attends The 2021 Met Gala Celebrating In America: A Lexicon Of Fashion at Metropolitan Museum of Art on September 13, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images)
Normani
Normani attends The 2021 Met Gala Celebrating In America: A Lexicon Of Fashion at Metropolitan Museum of Art on September 13, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue )
Whoopi Goldberg
Whoopi Goldberg attends The 2021 Met Gala Celebrating In America: A Lexicon Of Fashion at Metropolitan Museum of Art on September 13, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue )
Yara Shahidi
Yara Shahidi attends The 2021 Met Gala Celebrating In America: A Lexicon Of Fashion at Metropolitan Museum of Art on September 13, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images)
Amanda Gorman
Co-chair Amanda Gorman attends The 2021 Met Gala Celebrating In America: A Lexicon Of Fashion at Metropolitan Museum of Art on September 13, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images)
This year’s gala had a specific youthful flare when it came to the official co-chairs. Naomi Osaka, Amanda Gorman, Timothée Chalamet, and Billie Eilish were named co-chairs earlier this year, with Vogue sharing in their announcement, “they may approach the concept differently, but their shared passion for expressing themselves through clothing connects with the exhibition’s theme. Chalamet, Eilish, Osaka, and Gorman have all developed a distinct visual language for their public personas, one that is informed by the legacy of iconic fashion made in the U.S.A.”
The second installment of the gala, Part Two, An Anthology of Fashion will debut in May 2022. The exhibition is set to “feature men’s and women’s dress dating from the 18th century to the present in vignettes installed in select period rooms.” The current exhibition, In America: A Lexicon of Fashion, will remain open from Sept. 18, 2021–Sept. 5, 2022.
