{"id":410285,"date":"2026-04-25T13:51:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-25T13:51:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/410285\/"},"modified":"2026-04-25T13:51:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T13:51:10","slug":"how-the-met-gala-became-fashions-ultimate-party","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/410285\/","title":{"rendered":"How the Met Gala Became Fashion\u2019s Ultimate Party"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tIt\u2019s been said that the best way to get a party<\/a> started is to bring your friends. That\u2019s exactly how the Met Gala<\/a>, fashion\u2019s most coveted invitation of the year, became fashion\u2019s \u201cparty<\/a> of the year.\u201d The planning began in 1944, when Dorothy Shaver, then chairwoman of the Costume Institute<\/a>\u2019s event committee, along with Eleanor Lambert and friends, began what is now one of the most successful fundraisers for fashion exhibitions. The dinner and dance was initially held at New York City\u2019s Rainbow Room and the Waldorf-Astoria until the Costume Institute<\/a> officially opened its galleries inside the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1959.<\/p>\n

\n\tAfter Shaver and Lambert came Diana Vreeland, who joined the Costume Institute in 1972 as a special consultant for exhibitions. Vreeland transformed its exhibitions and, in 1975, with the help of socialite Pat Buckley, elevated its annual party into fashion\u2019s most prestigious event.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Diana<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tDiana Vreeland, Karl Katz and Jacqueline Onassis at a reception for the \u201cGlory of Russian Costume\u201d exhibition at The Met Museum of Art, 1977. Fairchild Archive <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNick Machalaba<\/p>\n

\n\tThe gala\u2019s red carpet became a spectacle rivaling event the grandest award show arrivals. Buckley, married to political conservative William Buckley, was one of New York\u2019s leading social doyennes. Known for her talent in bringing the right mix of people \u2014 from across the aisles \u2014 together, she and Vreeland helped establish the gala as the pinnacle of high society and fashion in New York for three decades.<\/p>\n

\n\tBuckley\u2019s guest list aligned perfectly with New York\u2019s social culture, successfully engaging the philanthropic arm of its inner circle. The roster included the \u201cladies who lunch,\u201d a term coined by John B. Fairchild in the 1960s.<\/p>\n

\n\tKnown for their love of fashion, these women elevated the affair \u2014 and others in their respective eras \u2014 making it worthy of the multipage layouts WWD began dedicating to the event in its \u201cEye\u201d pages for over 40 years.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"(L-R,<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tBabe Paley, Kenneth Jay Lane, Marion Javits, and Stephen Paley attend the Met Gala<\/a>, 1974. Fairchild Archive<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFairchild Archive\/Penske Media<\/p>\n

\n\tIt was Buckley who introduced the concept of round tables, intentionally placed for mixing high society, artists, authors and fashion designers to foster friendlier conversations and meaningful connections. She once told WWD that this approach was one of the keys to her success in hosting gatherings at home. Buckley also reinforced a strict black-tie dress code for the event, even as they became a themed \u201ccostume\u201d affair.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tAt the Met Gala (L) Carolina Herrera and Jacqueline de Ribes, 1977. (R) Nan Kempner and Lynn Wyatt, 1988. Fairchild Archive<\/p>\n

\n\tRegulars on Buckley\u2019s invite list included C.Z. Guest, Babe Paley, Est\u00e9e Lauder, Nan Kempner, Nancy Kissinger, Deeda Blair, Carolina Herrera, Jacqueline de Ribes, Annette Reed, Mica Erteg\u00fcn, Marion Javits, Mercedes Kellogg, Happy Rockefeller, Slim Keith, Barbara Walters, Brooke Astor, Chessy Rayner, CeCe Kieselstein-Cord, Blaine Trump, Lee Radziwill, Lynn Wyatt, and on occasion Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, accompanied by their husbands and gentleman walkers. Familiar faces that became must-have attendees at the posh event.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cEverybody who is here is here.\u201d Est\u00e9e Lauder once remarked, capturing the exclusivity and significance of the yearly soir\u00e9e and what has become fashion\u2019s high-profile celebration of fashion and culture. In 1995, Vogue\u2019s Anna Wintour took the reins as chair of the Costume Institute Gala and continues to host a who\u2019s who of fashion, music and entertainment to raise money in benefit of the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.<\/p>\n

\n\tHere is a look back at WWD\u2019s exclusive coverage of Buckley and friends at the Met Gala.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s been said that the best way to get a party started is to bring your friends. That\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":410286,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[110174,14834,86081,146,193904,85,46,29762,11852],"class_list":["post-410285","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-beautiful-people","tag-celebrity-fashion","tag-costume-institute","tag-entertainment","tag-fashion-party","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-met-gala","tag-party"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410285","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=410285"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410285\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/410286"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=410285"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=410285"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=410285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}