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The Metropolitan Museum of Art closed indefinitely last week amid concerns over the coronavirus pandemic, and now the 2020 Met Gala is on hold, too. The annual fashion event, which usually takes place on the first Monday in May, will be postponed from May 4 until after the coronavirus outbreak dies down. No new date has been announced yet.
A Met spokesperson told Vogue that after the CDC advised over the weekend that there should not be any gatherings of 50 people or more in the next eight weeks, that the museum decided “in deference to this guidance, all programs and events through May 15 will be canceled or postponed.”
Vogue‘s Anna Wintour acknowledged the postponement today, writing in her May letter, “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 be postponed to a later date.”
Exhibit curator Tom Bolton spoke about the night’s theme back in November in an interview with the New York Times. He explained that “fashion is indelibly connected to time. It not only reflects and represents the spirit of the times, but it also changes and develops with the times.”
The Times wrote that the 2020 theme comes at a time of “tension between the desire for sustainability and a garment that lasts and the desire for planned obsolescence and a new garment that drives us back into a store” in the fashion industry.
Celebrity co-chairs for the 2020 Met Gala include Louis Vuitton’s Nicolas Ghesquière, Vuitton ambassador Emma Stone, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Meryl Streep. The event is one of the most heavily attended by A-list stars like Selena Gomez, Lady Gaga, and more.