The 2018 Met Gala Theme Has Been Announced

More than anything, the theme of the Met's annual costume exhibition lets the world start wondering what their favorite fashionable celebrities might wear on New York's most prestigious red carpet—the Met Gala is often referred to as the Oscar's of fashion. Given its star-studded turnout and often outre ensembles, the Met Gala has perhaps far exceeded its film counterpart. 

Today, the museum announced that the 2018 exhibition will explore the link between Catholicism and clothes, and will be dubbed Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination. If your first thought is Lady Gaga wearing Mugler in her "Judas" video, you're not alone, but you've missed the mark—though, hopefully, that's what the red carpet will look like. 

The exhibition will present around 50 ecclesiastical garbs on loan from the Vatican, many of which have never left the Sistine Chapel. While not directly juxtaposed, dozens of luxury fashion pieces will be on display, from designers like Gianni Versace, Raf Simons, Riccardo Tisci, and many, many more. The exhibition will also explore the diffusion of Catholicism through art, as well, in collaboration with the museum's medieval department and Cloisters counterparts. Per usual, the entire exhibition will be spearheaded by Andrew Bolton, who became a familiar face with casual viewers following the release of The First Monday in May, which went behind the scenes of the 2016 Met Gala preperations. 

Anna Wintour will host the event alongside Rihanna, Amal Clooney, and Donatella Versace. The latter will be celebrating Versace's 40th anniversary, which comes perfectly timed next year. Expect plenty of the red carpet stars to be dressed by the brand. 

Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination, on view from May 10 through October 8, 2018. #MetHeavenlyBodies