The Met Gala. It’s the Oscars of the fashion world; one of those annual moments that bring fashion fantasies to life; an evening riddled with glitz, glam, all things golden, and all things weird and wonderful. The glitterati turnout and over-the-top ensembles – plus the bathroom selfies obviously – are the reason it’s an evening so lauded but fashion lovers.

As soon as the 2023 edition came to a close, the lot of us were already entering into heated debates about the 2024 theme. But alas! The day has come. The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute has announced the theme for the 2024 Met Gala. And the theme is… drumroll please…Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion!

Always aligned with a major display from the Costume Institute, an accompanying exhibition will aim to show never before seen items from Met’s permanent collection in a brand new, multi-sensory way. Around 250 unseen items from designers including Elsa Schiaparelli, Christian Dior, Hubert de Givenchy and Yves Saint Laurent, among others, will be on view, along with 50 historically significant pieces too delicate to ever be worn again – ergo the name “Sleeping Beauties.”

Serving as curators in charge of the Costume Institute, Andrew Bolton and Wendy Yu, said in a release: “The exhibition will be structured around approximately 250 historically significant and aesthetically beautiful pieces from the collection that are far too fragile ever to be worn again. These are the ‘Sleeping Beauties’ of the title.”

Open to the public from May 10 until September 2, the exhibition will follow the official Met Gala scheduled for – as always – the first Monday in May (May 6 this time around).

metmuseum.org