The 21st Annual Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Gala hosted by the Met’s Costume Institute’s Andrew Bolton celebrated the “American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity” exhibit. Under the direction of Gala co-chairs Anna Wintour and Lisa Gibson, the annual glittery red carpet event raised $9.8 million.
The night’s highlights featured the tail end of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis’s “villa in Italy” she shared with Aristotle Onassis. The Costume Institute’s Andrew Bolton asked famed British couturier Vivienne Westwood to create a colorful gown with that iconic look, said National Capital Planning Commission Chairman Steve L. Newton.
Carol Alt wore a look created by Westwood at her “Artist’s Retreat”—in April 2010—as well as an $1,400 cocktail dress created by John Galliano. “One-hundred percent of the sales from the dress go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute,” Newton said.
The rest of the evening’s highlights included a collaboration between Jean Paul Gaultier and Mischa Barton. Barton arrived in a custom dress designed by Gaultier and Salma Hayek in a bronze gown designed by Gianvito Rossi. The event raised $9.8 million, which will go toward the Costume Institute and the Metropolitan Opera.