Every single Met Gala theme from 1971 to 2019
It's an iconic event
Last updated 3rd May 2019
It's that time of year again: on Monday 6th May, the biggest names in fashion, film, music and art will gather at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art to celebrate the opening of the latest Costume Institute exhibition.
While the ball itself is a long-standing tradition that's been in place since 1948, the idea of having a themed dress code was not brought in until the '70s. Ahead of the Met Gala 2019 event, here's every single theme in Met Gala history...
Met Gala Theme Year 1971 - 2019
1971-1974
1971: Fashion Plate
1972: Untailored Garments
1973: The World of Balenciaga
1974: Romantic and Glamorous Hollywood Design
Pictured: Cher, 1974
1975
American Women of Style
Pictured: Pat Buckley
1976
The Glory of Russian Costume
Pictured: Imelda Marcos and Christina Ford
1977 - 1978
1977: Vanity Fair: A Treasure Trove
1978: Diaghilev: Costumes and Designs of the Ballets Russes
Pictured: Barbara Walters, 1977
1979
Fashions of the Habsburg Era: Austria-Hungary
Pictured: Margaux Hemingway and Bernard Foucher
1980
The Manchu Dragon: Costumes of China, the Chi'ng Dynasty
Pictured: Carolina Herrera
1981
The Eighteenth Century Woman
Pictured: Bianca Jagger
1982
La Belle Époque
Pictured: Raquel Welch
1983
Yves Saint Laurent: 25 Years of Design
Pictured: Carolina Herrera
1984
Man and the Horse
Pictured: Candy Pratts Price and Chuck Price
1984 - Man and the Horse
1985 - Costumes of Royal India
La Belle Époque
1983 - Yves Saint Laurent: 25 Years of Design
1984 - Man and the Horse
1985 - Costumes of Royal India
1985
Costumes of Royal India
Pictured: Cher
1986
1986: Dance
1987: In Style: Celebrating Fifty Years of the Costume Institute
Pictured: Linda Carter and Blaine Trump
1988
From Queen to Empress: Victorian Dress 1837-1877
Pictured: Zandra Rhodes
1989
The Age of Napoleon: Costume from Revolution to Empire, 1789-1815
Pictured: Anna Wintour
1990
Théâtre de la Mode: Fashion Dolls: The Survival of Haute Couture
Pictured: Naomi Campbell
1991
The gala was held without a theme
Pictured: Calvin Klein and Kelly Klein
1992
Fashion and History: A Dialogue
Pictured: Christy Turlington
1993
Diana Vreeland: Immoderate Style
Pictured: Joan Rivers
1994
Orientalism: Visions of the East in Western Dress
Pictured: Oscar de la Renta and his stepdaughter Eliza
1995
Haute Couture
Pictured: Princess Diana
1996
Christian Dior
Pictured: Iman
1997
Gianni Versace
Pictured: Salma Hayek
1998
Cubism and Fashion
Pictured: Sigourney Weaver
1999
Rock Style
Pictured: Liv Tyler and Stella McCartney
2001
Jacqueline Kennedy: The White House Years
Pictured: Naomi Campbell
2003
Goddess: The Classical Mode
Pictured: Stella McCartney and Kate Hudson
2004
Dangerous Liaisons: Fashion and Furniture in the 18th Century
Pictured: Eva Mendes
2005
The House of Chanel
Pictured: Nicole Kidman
2006
AngloMania: Tradition and Transgression in British Fashion
Pictured: Sarah Jessica Parker
2007
Poiret: King of Fashion
Pictured: Lucy Liu
2008
Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy
Pictured: Taylor Swift
2009
The Model As Muse: Embodying Fashion
Pictured: Winona Ryder
2010
American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity
Pictured: Mila Kunis
2011
Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty
Pictured: Emma Stone
2012
Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations
Pictured: Amber Heard
2013
Punk: Chaos to Couture
Pictured: Kate Beckinsale
2014
Charles James: Beyond Fashion
Pictured: Rita Ora
2015
China: Through the Looking Glass
Pictured: Beyoncé
2016
Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology
Pictured: Zayn Malik and Gigi Hadid
2017
Comme des Garçons's Rei Kawakubo
Pictured: Rihanna
2018
Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination
Pictured: Cynthia Erivo
2019
Camp: Notes on Fashion
Pictured: Kim Kardashian
2021
In America: A Lexicon of Fashion
Pictured: Yara Shahidi
Head to Grazia to read all about The Met Gala: The Best Dressed From The Last Decade
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