New York City’s annual Metropolitan Gala is a crazy shock collision between celebrities, fashion and media.

The event is ostensibly a fundraiser for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Academy, which houses a wealth of historical clothing and fashionable artifacts.

But for many, at that time of year, their social media feeds have poured in A-List actors, musicians and influencers’ posts, stories and live streams, upgrading the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s signature steps to showcase their exquisite costumes.

The party has come a long way since it was an intimate fundraising event for the local fashion industry and the old defender elite in New York.

Through my research at the Thomas J. Watson Library in the Metropolitan, I discovered the way Diana Vreeland, a former fashion editor named Diana Vreeland, elevating this previously slutty charity ball to a global media sensation.

Low-key events

Philanthropist and art patron Irene Lewisohn launched the Museum of Clothing Arts in 1937 to promote the preservation and research of historical clothing. In 1946, New York fashion PR Eleanor Lambert brought the museum’s collectors to the Metropolitan Museum of Art within the scope of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, warning that it would operate independently of the museum’s budget. It was then renamed to the Costume Academy.

In 1948, Lambert organized an inaugural party to raise funds for the institute. The following year, Lord & Taylor President Dorothy Shaver simplified operations for the Institute and its annual event, established a formal management structure and helped shape the reputation of a fledgling institution among the elite of New York society. During his tenure, Shanda's revenue rose steadily from $31,723 in 1949 to $118,775 in 1958, with the dollar today being about $1.3 million.

The razor-shaped metropolitan feast looks in many ways with today’s themes, formal suppers, live entertainment and fashion parades that attendees can attend. There is also a photographer division where guests can charge a renowned fashion photographer and receive a department store raffle.

After Shaver's death in 1958, department store executives continued to guide the party, but attendance and revenue waned. In 1961, the event was moved to the museum itself to cut costs and revival interests.

The party needs to be reinvented. Soon, it will get one.

Vreeland's Vision

Diana Vreeland accepted the ins ropes for the Metropolitan Gala in 1973.

She has a long career in fashion journalism, including being fashion editor at Harper's Fair and editor-in-chief of Vogue.

However, Vreeland learned that in order for the party to develop, it needs to be a newsworthy event, which will attract interest for those who may not even attend the party itself. As a result, she chose spectacular, sometimes controversial topics that would attract the interest of the press.

Vreeland's first exhibition in 1973 was bold: a tribute to Cristóbal Balenciaga, a designer.

"Balenciaga World" is funded by the Spanish government, Iberian Airlines and five Spanish banks - a controversial move considering that Spain is still under the dictatorship of Francisco Franco. The show centers on Franco's granddaughter's wedding dress.

Some curators also made efforts to the unorthodox approach to Vreeland’s performance program, such as blurring time periods, displaying clothes without providing historical context, and prioritizing beauty over scholarship.

"She knows fashion, who wears it, but she doesn't know history," said a former museum official.

Nevertheless, critics believe the party and its accompanying exhibitions have been a huge success. American designer Stan Herman announced that the costumes “belong to museums, like good paintings.”

Over the next few years, Vreeland's other themes include "Romantic and Charming Hollywood Design", "The 10s, 20s and 30s" and "Stylish American Women." The latter is accompanied by a Vogue magazine starring actress and model Marisa Berenson, who directs iconic American "It Girls" like Irene Castle, Consuelo Vanderbilt and Josephine Baker.

Buzz and pizzazz

Before Vreeland, coverage of the event was limited to social pages and publications such as Women’s Daily Clothing.

Vreeland knows how to cause buzz because she thinks it's like an editor. She also knows how to be charming. Vreeland popularized words like "Pizzazz", "Splendeur" and "Deeveen". She tells the story of discovering model and actress Lauren Bacall and the work of fashion designer Roy Halston. She used the story of an alleged visit to Buffalo Bill in Wyoming to register journalists.

Under Vreeland, the media coverage of the grand event and exhibition exploded, and the New York Times appeared in The New York Times, New York, New York Magazine, People, Interviews, Le Figaro, Le Figaro, Revista Hola! 》, ABC de las Americas, Abc de las Americas, il tempo, il tempo, il tempo, paris Herald Tribune and Tokyo high fashion, etc. During her tenure, she also opened the doors to journalists and photographers so that they could cover the nights of the event.

In daily interviews with women’s clothing, she said: “I am an artist. I believe in wit, kindness and laughter.”

Company Disputes

With “The World of Valencia,” Freran also pioneered the use of corporate sponsorship to fund exhibitions and gatherings. In 1982, Pierre Cardin management funded the "La Belleépoque", a Met Gala theme related to the famous Parisian restaurant Maxim, which Cardin invested in.

In 1983, Vreeland once again raised a controversy in his first exhibition in honor of the living designer Yves Saint Laurent, who was insured by the Pierre Bergé Foundation. Bergé is a life and business partner of Saint Laurent.

The show was launched amid rumors about designer health declines and increasingly criticized the museum for being seen as a propaganda platform.

“One day, the gods at the Temple of Denduer will cry: ‘I am not sharing the museum with a bunch of fashion freaks on Earth!’” critic John Heilpern mourned at the East Side Express.

The following year, Ralph Lauren became the central sponsor and guest of "Man and Horse".

Metropolitan suit

Under Vreeland's leadership, a new type of guest list has also emerged.

In the 1960s, the rise of celebrity culture gave birth to "jets" - beautiful people whose reputation surpassed traditional social circles.

Freyland accepted the change. She provided space for Andy Warhol, Bianca and Mick Jagger, Halston and his Halstonettes, David Bowie, Cher, Diana Ross, Warren Beatty and Jack Nicholson at the party.

Their presence helped transform the grand event from a social republic to a popular cultural phenomenon.

After Vreeland's death in 1989, the event lost some of its glory under the guidance of museum curators. Women’s Clothing Daily Columnist Aileen Mehle later lamented the decline and wrote that the incident was far from the days of dear Diana Vreeland.

However, in the late 1990s, the museum curator who hosted the event returned to fashion since the death of Vreeland. High-end brands like Chanel, Versace and Christian Dior sponsored the Met Gala, while fashion editors such as Liz Tilberis and Anna Wintour hosted the event.

By guiding Vreeland's vision, they were able to turn the party into a global media wonder today, thriving in the age of social media and global brands.

This year’s theme is “Super Elf: Cut Black Style,” co-hosted by rapper producer Pharrell Williams, who is also the artistic director of Louis Vuitton men’s clothing. LVMH Corporate Group - Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton - is a sponsor that shows how the party continues to be a platform for corporate brands, celebrity culture and high cultural integration.