Fashion’s most celebrated evening of the year took place earlier this week, and it carries a Royal connection that many are unaware of.
The Met Gala has been held since 1948 to raise funds for the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
The institute receives no financial support from the museum and therefore benefits from encouraging attendees to contribute.
Today, fashion houses purchase tables at the event — at roughly $380k each — and invite guests, who must be approved by former Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour.
However, the gala hasn’t always been filled with influencers and reality TV personalities. Wintour assumed control of the ball’s organization in 1995, amid a fierce rivalry with Harper’s Bazaar editor Elizabeth Tilberis. The two were locked in a battle to establish their respective magazine as the industry’s finest.
Then, in 1996, Tilberis managed to accomplish something Wintour couldn’t — persuading Diana, Princess of Wales, to attend the Met Gala. Diana attended the event as Tilberis’ guest and subsequently appeared on the cover of Harper’s Bazaar in 1997.
According to Filipa Fino, former senior accessories director at American Vogue, this deeply frustrated Wintour, who never had the opportunity to match Tilberis before Diana’s tragic death in 1997.
The former Vogue staff member noted that this spurred Wintour to transform the Met Gala into the premier event on the social calendar, a drive that continues to motivate her today.
Fino revealed to The Times: “This seed of Anna never being able to host Princess Diana at the Met, and her vision of what it should be like – worthy of a princess – is what drove her from 1996 to today. She took on the Costume Institute Ball as her own personal project.”
The annual fashion spectacle has evolved from an exclusive industry gathering into a globally watched affair, attracting stars ranging from pop icon Madonna to digital personality Emma Chamberlain.
During Princess Diana’s 1996 appearance, she donned a £10,000 midnight-blue dress designed by John Galliano for Dior with a sapphire choker set in a triple strand of pearls and her Lady Dior bag, originally called the ‘Chouchou’, and renamed in her honor.
Fashion journalist Hilary Alexander hailed it as “the most important dress since Liz Hurley wore her safety-pinned Versace”, noting the unprecedented nature of a member of the royal family embracing ‘underwear as outerwear’ at such a prestigious occasion.
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‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.the-express.com ’
