Every year, event planner Raul Ávila is given a daunting task: to transform the interiors of the Metropolitan Museum of Art into an otherworldly spectacle for the annual Met Gala. For 2019’s “Camp: Notes on Fashion,” he created a 25-foot tall, flamboyant flamingo centrepiece comprised of 30,000 flowers. In 2018, he erected a rose recreation of a papal crown for “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.” And those are just examples of floral formations: In 2007, for “Poiret: King of Fashion,” he filled a gilded birdcage with live peacocks. Minor chaos ensued when one escaped. “Everyone at the museum was chasing after her to get her back into the cage,” he recalled.
Each event brings an adventure: in 2013, Avila and his team flew in a chandelier from London and rigged it with razor blades for that year’s punk-themed bash, and “Heavenly Bodies” saw the Met’s grand staircase alight with thousands of candles. Then there are the table settings: 2019, for example, saw tablescapes with bamboo flatware, feather lampshades, floral plates, and shocking pink tablecloths.
2023’s soirée, “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty,” honoured the Chanel creative director with its decor. The Temple of Dendur boasted a set that resembled Lagerfeld’s home library, while the tablescapes took aesthetic cues for the famous wedding reception he threw for Paloma Picasso.
This year’s event—“Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion”—and its sure-to-be fantastical decor will take place on May 6. So until then, take a spin through the Met Gala interiors throughout the years, from 2005’s Chanel-themed soiree to the most recent affair in 2023.
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Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty
Karl Lagerfeld was known for his love of throwing dinner parties. For the 2023 Met Gala, the Vogue special events department and event planner Raul Àvila were inspired by most famous soirées: the wedding reception he hosted for Paloma Picasso.
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Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty
The dinner was surrounded by a set that was meant to evoke Lagerfeld’s home library. (The Chanel designer was a known bibliophile, and his apartments were always filled to the brim with a wide array of books: “I go to bookshops almost every day of the week,” he told Vogue in 1992.)
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Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty
In Metropolitan Museum Great Hall, a centerpiece made of thousands of recycled water-bottles greeted guests. The concept came from the mind of Tadao Ando, the Japanese artist who also designed the Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty exhibit.
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In America: An Anthology of Fashion and A Lexicon of Fashion
For 2022’s “In America: An Anthology of Fashion”, guests from Blake Lively to Lizzo had dinner on plates adorned with vintage motifs sourced by Johnson Hartig of Libertine. Gracing the tables were linens based off of embroidery by American textile artist Elizabeth Jeffries, found by Vogue’s contributing editor Eaddy Kiernan in the Metropolitan Museum’s archive.
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In America: An Anthology of Fashion and A Lexicon of Fashion
When guests walked into Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Great Hall on Monday night, they were greeted by a modern interpretation of Statue of Liberty’s eternal flame of enlightenment.
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In America: An Anthology of Fashion and A Lexicon of Fashion
For September’s “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion” gala, the Great Hall housed a grand oak tree made of recycled materials, surrounded by a wild field of wheat grass.
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Camp: Notes on Fashion
“Camp is all about exaggeration,” Raul Ávila said of his decor for the 2019 Met Gala. Here, a flamingo centerpiece in the museum’s Great Hall with a base comprised of 30,000 flowers.
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Camp: Notes on Fashion
“The inspiration is a reflection of my Latin roots and the unique floral and fauna,” said Àvila of this year’s tablescapes.“There was no room for simplicity, even when it came to the table setting.”
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Camp: Notes on Fashion
The Met’s grand staircase, adorned in a shocking pink.
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Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination
For the 2018 Met Gala, Ávila designed a papal crown centerpiece with 80,000 roses. Why recreate the headpiece? “The tiara is the most striking component of the Pope’s ensemble,” he said.
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Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination
The museum’s staircase was accented with taper candles.
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Rei Kawakubo /Comme des Garçons: Art of The In-Between
For “Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between,” a giant, violet-shaped centerpiece towered over party-goers in the Great Hall. The giant flower was a nod to Kawakaubo’s designs, many of which feature a floral motif.
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Rei Kawakubo /Comme des Garçons: Art of The In-Between
A blue and pink carpet covered the Met’s staircase.
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Rei Kawakubo /Comme des Garçons: Art of The In-Between
Table settings, which included floral chinaware and sake cups.
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Manus X Machina: Fashion In An Age of Technology
A design-savvy double-helix in the Great Hall for “Manus/Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology”. The 65-foot structure was made of 80,000 red roses, 200,000 red silk roses, and laser-cut lace.
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Manus X Machina: Fashion In An Age of Technology
An arched floral doorway welcomed guests to the Temple of Dendur.
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China: Through The Looking Glass
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China: Through The Looking Glass
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Charles James: Beyond Fashion
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Charles James: Beyond Fashion
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Punk: Chaos to Couture
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Punk: Chaos to Couture
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Schiaparelli & Prada: Impossible Conversations
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Schiaparelli & Prada: Impossible Conversations
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Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty
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Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty
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American Woman: Fashioning A National Identity
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American Woman: Fashioning A National Identity
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The Model As Muse: Embodying Fashion
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The Model As Muse: Embodying Fashion
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Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy
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Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy
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Poiret: King of Fashion
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Poiret: King of Fashion
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Anglomania: Tradition and Transgression in British Fashion
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Anglomania: Tradition and Transgression in British Fashion
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