A Star-Spangled, Star-Studded Met Gala

The Costume Institute’s biggest night of the year drew a youthful crowd with an American theme.

The United States is a relatively young country, and this year’s American fashioned-themed Met Gala seemed, in many ways, a nod to that fact. The hosts were a Gen Z dream team: Amanda Gorman, the 23-year-old inaugural poet; Timothée Chalamet, the 25-year-old star of “Dune”; Naomi Osaka, the 23-year-old tennis champion and mental health activist; and Billie Eilish, the 19-year-old music phenom. Honorary chairs included Vogue’s Anna Wintour; the designer Tom Ford; and Adam Mosseri, the chief executive of Instagram, which is underwriting the exhibition and party along with Condé Nast. This year the gala, also known as “the party of the year,” was framed as part of New York’s re-emergence, along with the reopening of Broadway shows, indoor dining and the U.S. Open. Still, many designers who live in Europe and usually make the trip did not attend, either because of quarantine rules or because they have to work on their own shows. Rumors swirled that some Hollywood stars also chose to sit this one out, perhaps because of health concerns or because of the fear that partying while people are sick is not the best look. And some regulars could not attend, because they had not been vaccinated — a requirement for all guests.