The Met Gala 2020 might be cancelled, but a live stream by the organisers will celebrate the ‘Oscars of fashion’ with appearances from Anna Wintour, Virgil Abloh and more
The annual Met Gala – which takes place on the first Monday in May and is often described as the ‘Oscars of fashion’ – was postponed indefinitely earlier this year following the outbreak of Covid-19. Due to be themed around the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s upcoming Costume Institute exhibition About Time: Fashion and Duration (which has also been postponed) and take place this evening in New York, the organisers have announced an alternative event: A Moment With the Met, which viewers from around the world will be able to tune into live tonight.
Announced on American Vogue’s website (the magazine’s editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour, hosts the event), A Moment With the Met promises a “celebration of the first Monday of May” streamed live on YouTube from 6pm EDT this evening and involving an address from Wintour, a live performance by Florence and the Machine, and a DJ set from the designer Virgil Abloh. “It would be impossible to recreate the gala on Monday evening, though I have loved hearing how so many are marking the occasion in their own ways. So instead, I asked a few friends to join me for a simple moment – one that I hope will bring us all a bit of joy,” says Wintour.
Throughout Monday and Tuesday, a series of new videos on YouTube will also celebrate Met Galas past, from ‘A Life in Looks’ with Naomi Campbell to Liza Koshy’s Best Red Carpet Moments and a ‘Met Oral History’ with participants including Jeremy Scott, Cardi B, Liv Tyler and Stella McCartney. The aim is to raise money for both the Costume Institute and A Common Thread, the CFDA initiative which helps the American fashion community face the effects of Covid-19, with Vogue giving a major contribution as well as asking viewers to donate if they are able.
Meanwhile, for those missing the live red carpet experience, a group of young fashion devotees – who collectively identify as part of “hft”, high fashion Twitter – will be hosting their own version of the event, inviting users to post their own ‘looks’ or vision boards using the hashtag #HFMetGala2020. “It always felt like fashion and the Met pretty much mirrored each other, but I never felt part of that world,” one of the organisers, Senam Attipoe, told the New York Times last week. “Now I see us as the leaders who will come next, and for us to be so inclusive makes me feel really excited about the future.”
Tune into A Moment at the Met from 6pm EDT on American Vogue’s YouTube channel.