This week at UVA marks the beginning of the (highly dreaded) two weeks of finals. Most of us are trapped in the freezing cold libraries, typing away on our laptops or feverishly trying to calculate the lowest possible grade we can get on our exams.
Meanwhile, the glamorous celebrities and trendsetters of the world are preparing for the famous “first Monday in May.” AKA – the Met Gala. Every year, the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC hosts a seriously star-studded Gala. Oftentimes, attendees go all-out and really let their creative fashion senses shine.
This year’s Met Gala is on Monday, May 7th. The Gala raises money for the Costume Institute and commences the start of its annual fashion exhibition. This year’s exhibition (and therefore Gala theme) is “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.” Â
So, if you want a little distraction from your textbooks and papers, take a look at these interesting facts and pictures from some of the Met Galas of the past!
1.  Publicist Eleanor Lambert founded the Gala in 1948 to encourage donations from members of New York’s high society.
(photo of the 1960 Met Gala courtesy of time.com)
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2.  Anna Wintour, the current editor-in-chief of US Vogue, has chaired the event since 1995.
(photo courtesy of thezoereport.com)
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3.  The cost of a ticket is reported to be about $25,000…although Anna Wintour gets to say whether or not you are able to make it onto the guest list.
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4.  It is reported that the 2015 Met Gala raised $12.5 million for the Costume Institute.
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5.  The famous yellow gown that Rihanna wore to the 2016 Met Gala had a train that measured 75 feet in length!
(photo courtesy of www.metmuseum.org)
6.  Celebrity attendees and fashion designers are often paired up each year. Some famous pairs of the past include Blake Lively and Karl Lagerfeld as well as Selena Gomez and Vera Wang.