Every single Met Gala theme from 1971 to 2019

It's an iconic event

Author: Katie RosseinskyPublished 3rd May 2019
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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