Met Gala 2020 has been postponed 'indefinitely' due to coronavirus pandemic
- 17 Mar 2020
Gulf Today Report
The buzziest fashion-society-politics-celebrity gathering of the year, just ran out of time.
Anna Wintour, the chair of the Met Gala, announced no future date for the annual benefit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art due to the ongoing pandemic.
The gala, one of the most high-profile events in fashion, was supposed to take place on 4 May at New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.
“One day that will not arrive on schedule will be the opening of the costume institute’s exhibition, about time. Due to the unavoidable and responsible decision by the Metropolitan Museum to close its doors, About Time, and the opening night gala, will not take place on the date scheduled,” she wrote.
“In the meantime, we will give you a preview of this extraordinary exhibition in our forthcoming May issue.”
Wintour, the editor-in-chief of Vogue‘s US edition, also endorsed Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election in the same article.
“Like everyone else, I have been experiencing this Covid-19 crisis as a series of hurtling developments, where one never knows quite what each new day will bring,” she wrote.
“Through it all one fact, however, remains stubbornly unchanged: President Trump.”
She added: "I look forward to casting my ballot in November for Joe Biden—together with whatever running mate he chooses (and he has wisely committed to choosing a woman).”
The postponement of the Met Gala came the day after it was announced that New York City public schools would shut down. Bars and restaurants will be limited to takeout and deliveries from Monday at 8pm.
That programming includes the annual fund-raising party, which heralds the opening of the Costume Institute’s yearly blockbuster and has become the starriest draw of the New York gala circuit — as well as its most lucrative. According to a spokesperson for the museum, no new date or further plans for the party, originally scheduled for May 4 and meant to unveil the show “About Time: Fashion and Duration,” had been announced.
It’s widely viewed as the biggest night in fashion, even more so than the Academy Awards — and that’s just the red carpet. Reporters and social media are both banned from the dinner, which takes place inside the museum, the better to ensure exclusivity. What happens at the Temple of Dendur (and the other galleries) stays inside the galleries. Except when a guest takes an errant bathroom selfie.
