It is widely judged to be the fashion world's most extravagant night out, wielding huge influence over trends on the high street. This year's red carpet will be graced by a host of celebrities including Lupita Nyong'o, Sarah Jessica Parker, Taylor Swift and Kim Kardashian as well as industry VIPs and some of the wealthiest people in the world, each splashing out $25,000 (£15,000) on a ticket.
The influence of the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art's annual gala opening for its annual fashion exhibition has spread far beyond upper echelons of the industry as fashion retailers watch for a new trend that they can cash in on.
"It's probably the most looked at event in the fashion calender, even more so than the Oscars," says Gemma Hayward, senior fashion editor at Grazia magazine.
Last year's exhibition, Punk: Chaos to Couture, which examined the influence of punk on high fashion since the early 1970s, led to retailers, including Zara and asos, doing a roaring trade in studded sandals, while the Superheroes theme of 2008 meant that cartoon-printed superhero T-shirts littered the high street.
More recent, playful themes have been interpreted by celebrities looking to score red carpet publicity points – with mixed success. Beyoncé's take on punk in 2013 suffered charges of resembling a dictator's interior decor, and worse, of being unflattering.
However, the focus of this year's exhibition "Charles James: Beyond Fashion" – a retrospective of the 20th-century British-born, American-based couturier – may pose a problem for high-street brands looking to turn the look of the Met ball into sales. Guests are expected to embrace the high society theme with extravagant ballgowns and elbow-length gloves likely to take top billing. It is a look which, unlike last year's punk theme isn't so easy to reinterpret on the high street.
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"It is in direct contrast to the last Met ball," said Hayward. "More rarefied and historical. That's more challenging and less likely to be absorbed into the mainstream."
Charles James was little known beyond a circle of industry admirers and wealthy couture clients. In the 1940s his contemporaries referred to him as a genius, with Christian Dior crediting him with inspiring his new look and describing his work as "poetry". Fellow designers, including Coco Chanel and Elsa Schiaparelli, wore his designs (the former wasn't required to pay for her dresses, but the latter was) while life-long friend Cecil Beaton photographed an elite set of fans wearing them. A perfectionist and defiant elitist, James reportedly once said that he felt there was not enough money in the world to buy his garments. But despite his eccentric personality and the many compelling details about his career the designer does not feature prominently in fashion's history books.
The exhibition will also be the first at the newly reopened Anna Wintour Costume Centre. The wing was previously known as the Costume Institute but was renamed in recognition of the US Vogue editor's huge fundraising efforts over the past 16 years. The theme suggests Wintour's agenda includes repositioning the event – and indeed her own fashion legacy – as worthy of a museum as opposed to quirkier themes of recent year that have subsequently appealed to fashion's playful side.
There have been some rumours from American media sources that Wintour – who will co-host the party with Sarah Jessica Parker and Bradley Cooper– "wants more exclusivity." A theory given weight considering that tickets are $10,000(£6,000) higher than last year's price, and that the theme focuses on a couturier who could never be described as egalitarian.
Vogue, one of Wintour's mouthpieces, has already suggested that the Charles James-themed Met gala will signal a return to "old world elegance on the red carpet". The white tie and decorations dress code – which has raised eyebrows for its deliberately rigid sartorial implications – will mean it says "many of the chicest attendees will be wearing custom cuissardes made by ancestral French glovemakers".
Commentators are in agreement that, although unlikely sounding, long gloves could be an unexpected commercial trend to reverberate down the fashion food chain as a result of the event. "The very strict dress code will be difficult for anyone watching to translate into their everyday wardrobe, but long gloves were all over the autumn/winter catwalks so they are probably the easiest part of it," says Hayward.
Kay Barron, fashion features director at Porter magazine agrees: "actually I'm quite feeling long gloves for next season, but rather than a specific trend piece, I think it will inspire a love of dressing up again. Gowns have been out of fashion for so long, even for black tie events and I think everyone could benefit from getting a bit fancy from time to time."
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