What would have been tonight’s biggest fashion event of the year, has since been postponed indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic. Every first Monday of May, all of Hollywood and fashion’s elite come together for one evening for a fundraising benefit to raise money for the Costume Institue, a department in which it has to fund itself, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. The event also marks the opening of the Costume Institue Annual Fashion Exhibit, which was originally set to be open today, May 4th through September, but now been slated to open on October 29th. What originally started as a simple fundraising dinner, has since become one of the most glamorous and celebrity-oriented events of the year.

Established back in 1948, The Met Gala, formally known as The Costume Institue Gala, was held in different venues throughout New York City before finding it’s permanent home in 1972 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art or commonly known as “The Met”. Taking part in this event used to be as easy as purchasing a $50 ticket, but over the years it became more exclusive and selective in who was able to attend. While the price for a ticket has gone up to $30,000, some of the biggest companies and most sought after designers will spend up to $300,000 per table and invite guests of their choosing, however, guidelines must be met for anyone on the invitation list, which needs to be approved by the Vogue editor and chairwoman of The Met Gala, Anna Wintour herself, who usually approves people based on their status. Each year, a theme is introduced in which guests must dress accordingly. As years have passed, more and more attendees have grown bolder and have begun to collaborate with designers to create some of the most extravagant, over the top, yet beautiful gowns. It is without a doubt that last years theme was the most extravagant theme to date, forcing attendees to push boundaries, proving that there are no limits to fashion. Last year’s kitschy theme, Camp: Notes on Fashion, granted us the pleasure of seeing Ezra Miller boasting more than two eyes and Jared Leto carrying around a prosthetic version of his head, while Katy Perry dressed as a chandelier and Billy Porter entered the red carpet in the most lavish way possible, being carried in like an Egyptian God. With this year's theme, About Time: Fashion and Duration, we can't help but wonder, with last year becoming the most successful and talked about event in fashion, will future Met Gala’s live up to the expectations that we have garnered up from last year?

What was once an exclusive event, has since become all about inclusivity with everyone having the chance to celebrate the Met Gala in the comforts of their own home by participating in contests and challenges throughout social media. Vogue Magazine and Billy Porter partnered up in hosting #MetGalaChallenge on Instagram, where your task is to recreate an iconic Met Gala look at home, while High Fashion Twitter is hosting a virtual event where users have flocked to post looks, photosets, illustrations, essays and other creative outlets showing their interpretation on this year's theme using the hashtag: #HFMetGala. Vogue also hosted a digital fashion live stream event on YouTube, A Moment With The Met, in which Anna Wintour, Naomi Campbell, and Liza Koshy come together to look back at highlights from the previous years.

Well there is no definitive answer as to if and when the Gala will ever take place this year, we take a step back to admire the history and effort that has been put in throughout the years. Here are a few of our favorite looks featuring some of the most extravagant, yet stunning looks throughout the decade.