Women’s Wear Daily’s coverage of the Met Gala spans over 40 years, documenting what has long been celebrated as the “party of the year” for fashion. The dinner-turned-dance was conceived to raise funds for the ongoing support of the Costume Institute at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Its annual exhibition spotlighting costume and fashion as an “art form,” and the party has become one of the most coveted invitations, past and present. During the era of chair Pat Buckley, the event evolved to ensure that friends, rivals, fashion luminaries and philanthropists all played a central role in the event’s success. Here’s a look back at exclusive coverage from WWD and the Fairchild Archive, celebrating the guests who helped shape the Met Gala into the iconic event it is today.
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From the Archive: The Met Gala and Its Glamour, Rivalries and Philanthropy
Image Credit: Thomas Iannaccone/Fairchild Archive Diana Vreeland and Yves Saint Laurent attend the Met Gala and “YSL Retrospective” exhibition in New York on December 6, 1983.
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From the Archive: The Met Gala and Its Glamour, Rivalries and Philanthropy
Image Credit: Fairchild Archive/WWD C.Z. Guest and Winston Churchill Guest attend the Met Gala and ‘Vanity Fair’ exhibition, in New York on December 12, 1977.
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From the Archive: The Met Gala and Its Glamour, Rivalries and Philanthropy
Image Credit: Fairchild Archive/WWD Nan Kempner in YSL and Pat Buckley in Oscar de la Renta attend the Met Gala and ‘Vanity Fair’ exhibition in New York on December 12, 1977.
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From the Archive: The Met Gala and Its Glamour, Rivalries and Philanthropy
Image Credit: Fairchild Archive/WWD Barbara Walters, in Halston, with Estee Lauder, in Dior attend the Met Gala and ‘Vanity Fair’ exhibition in New York on December 12, 1977.
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From the Archive: The Met Gala and Its Glamour, Rivalries and Philanthropy
Image Credit: Tony Palmieri/Fairchild Archive Slim Keith with Diana Vreeland in Givenchy and Bill Blass attend the Met Gala and ‘Vanity Fair’ exhibition in New York on December 12, 1977.
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From the Archive: The Met Gala and Its Glamour, Rivalries and Philanthropy
Image Credit: Fairchild Archive/WWD Alma Vicini, Oscar de la Renta and Mica Ertegun attend the Met Gala and ‘Man and the Horse’ exhibition in New York on December 3, 1984.
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From the Archive: The Met Gala and Its Glamour, Rivalries and Philanthropy
Image Credit: Eric Weiss/Fairchild Archive Nan Kempner and William F. Buckley Jr. attend the Met Gala and ‘Diana Vreeland: Immoderate Style’ exhibition in New York City on December 6, 1993.
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From the Archive: The Met Gala and Its Glamour, Rivalries and Philanthropy
Image Credit: Fairchild Archive/WWD Lee Radziwill and guests attend the Met Gala and ‘Diaghilev:Costumes and Designs of the Ballets Russes’ exhibition in New York on November 20, 1978.
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From the Archive: The Met Gala and Its Glamour, Rivalries and Philanthropy
Image Credit: Fairchild Archive/WWD Chessy Rayner and friend attend the Met Gala and ‘American Women of Style’ exhibition in New York on December 10, 1975.
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From the Archive: The Met Gala and Its Glamour, Rivalries and Philanthropy
Image Credit: Fairchild Archive/WWD Nan Kempner attend the Met Gala and ‘Teatre de la Mode’ exhibition in New York on December 4, 1990.
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From the Archive: The Met Gala and Its Glamour, Rivalries and Philanthropy
Image Credit: Fairchild Archive/Penske Media Barry Kieselstein-Cord and CeCe Kieselstein-Cord attend the Met Gala and exhibition “Diaghilev: Costumes and Designs of the Ballets Russes” in New York City on November 20, 1978.
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From the Archive: The Met Gala and Its Glamour, Rivalries and Philanthropy
Image Credit: Fairchild Archive/WWD Barbara Allen, Andy Warhol and friends attend the Met Gala and exhibition ‘Vanity Fair’ in New York on December 12, 1977.
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From the Archive: The Met Gala and Its Glamour, Rivalries and Philanthropy
Image Credit: Fairchild Archive/WWD Roy Halston and Bianca Jagger in Halston collection and friend attend the Met Gala and exhibition ‘Vanity Fair’, on December 12, 1977 in New York.
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From the Archive: The Met Gala and Its Glamour, Rivalries and Philanthropy
Image Credit: Fairchild Archive/WWD Kitty Miller and John Richardson attend the “Met Gala” and exhibition ‘Vanity Fair’, in New York on December 12, 1977.
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From the Archive: The Met Gala and Its Glamour, Rivalries and Philanthropy
Image Credit: NIck Haddow/Fairchild Archive Lynn Wyatt (L) and Bill Blass (C) attend the Met Gala and exhibition ‘Haute Couture’ exhibition, in New York on December 4, 1995.
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From the Archive: The Met Gala and Its Glamour, Rivalries and Philanthropy
Image Credit: Fairchild Archive/WWD Carolina Herrera attends the “Met Gala” and exhibition ‘Vanity Fair’, in New York on December 12, 1977.
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From the Archive: The Met Gala and Its Glamour, Rivalries and Philanthropy
Image Credit: Thomas Iannccone/Fairchild Archive Rafael Lopez-Cambil and Paloma Picasso attend the Met Gala and ‘YSL Retrospective’ exhibition in New York on December 6, 1983.
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From the Archive: The Met Gala and Its Glamour, Rivalries and Philanthropy
Image Credit: Eric Weiss/Fairchild Archive Anne Bass and Andre Leon Talley attend the Met Gala and ‘Diana Vreeland: Immoderate Style’ exhibition in New York City on December 6, 1993.
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From the Archive: The Met Gala and Its Glamour, Rivalries and Philanthropy
Image Credit: NIck Haddow/Fairchild Archive Anna Wintour (L) and Annette Reed (C) photographed by Bill Cunningham attend the Met Gala and exhibition ‘Haute Couture’ exhibition in New York on December 4, 1995.
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From the Archive: The Met Gala and Its Glamour, Rivalries and Philanthropy
Image Credit: Dustin Pittman/Fairchild Archive Valentino Garavani, Pat Buckley and guests attend the 10th annual Costume Institute “Met Gala” and exhibition ‘The Eighteenth-Century Woman’ in New York on December 8, 1981.