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Just in time for Fashion Week, WWD reported this morning on details for the 2010 iteration of one of industry’s biggest nights out, the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute gala. Oprah Winfrey and Gap creative director Patrick Robinson will co-chair the May 3 event alongside Vogue editor Anna Wintour.

Robinson’s presence as a co-chair comes as little surprise, as Gap joins Condé Nast in financing the party and exhibition for the next go-round. The exhibition in question was also announced: “American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity” will chronicle the evolution of fashion’s influence on American women from 1890 to 1940. The show will run May 5 through August 15, and will be the first comprised of pieces from the Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection, acquired by the Met this past January.

After Vogue event director Stephanie Winston Wolkoff departed the magazine this summer, the 2010 gala will be the first produced by new director Sylvana Soto-Ward. —Michael O'Connell

Costume Institute Gala, Vogue, Gap Inc., Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, Anna Wintour, Condé Nast, Oprah Winfrey, Patrick Robinson, Sylvana Soto-Ward

NEWS 06.19.09 11:52 AM

Vogue Event Director Stephanie Winston Wolkoff Resigns

Vogue special events director Stephanie Winston Wolkoff resigned this week after 11 years with the magazine, according to WWD. As editor in chief Anna Wintour's go-to strategist, her largest task each year was producing the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute gala.

Winston Wolkoff began her tenure at Vogue as manager of public relations and, since being promoted to special events director, has overseen the execution of initiatives such as 7th on Sale and the C.F.D.A./Vogue Fashion Fund. In a statement published in WWD, Winston Wolkoff had this to say about her departure: "It’s so hard to walk away from it all, but 11 years and three children later, it’s just time for me to step away and spend more time with my family."

There's no word yet on whether Vogue has a replacement in mind. —Michael O'Connell

Vogue, Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, Anna Wintour, Condé Nast, Costume Institute Gala

EVENT REPORT 05.06.09 11:53 AM

Costume Institute Gala Puts Models on the Red Carpet, in the Decor, and in El Morocco-Style Banquettes

Dinner at the Costume Institute gala
Photo: Don Pollard/Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute gala returned Monday night, seemingly unfettered by the recession, previous reports of low ticket sales, and some last-minute tabloid drama inspired by the institute's latest exhibition, "The Model as Muse." The night drew a sold-out crowd of 650, including Victoria Beckham, Madonna, and Rihanna.

But it was the models who seemed to take up most of the spots on the red carpet this year. Co-chair Kate Moss arrived on the arm of honorary chair Marc Jacobs, and aside from a few absences—Stephanie Seymour and Naomi Campbell publicly boycotted the gala for the exhibition's exclusion of designer Azzedine Alaïa—the guest list featured most of the industry's biggest icons, including Cindy Crawford, Iman, and Twiggy.

Vogue special events director Stephanie Winston Wolkoff returned to produce the gala, planning over a period of nearly nine months with Met vice president for development and membership Nina Diefenbach, deputy chief development officer for events Kristin MacDonald, and deputy chief special events officer Ashley Potter Bruynes. MORE >>

Costume Institute, Costume Institute Gala, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Anna Wintour, Marc Jacobs, Kate Moss, Justin Timberlake

NEWS 10.30.08 12:53 PM

Costume Institute Exhibit and Gala Will Focus on Models

A few details about next year's Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute exhibition and opening gala emerged this week. WWD reported that "The Model as Muse: Embodying Fashion" will follow last year's superhero exhibit, and the subjects may closely resemble the gala's guest list.

The Costume Institute counts Iman, Gisele Bündchen, Twiggy, and Naomi Campbell on its long list of influential models who steered the course of fashion in the past 100 years. Images and video of them—along with other models, musicians, and actors—will be on display with the 70 selected looks. The exhibition opens May 6 and runs through August 9. MORE >>

Metropolitan Museum of Art, Costume Institute, Costume Institute Gala, Vogue, Anna Wintour, Marc Jacobs, Kate Moss, Justin Timberlake

EVENT REPORT 05.09.07 12:00 AM

Costume Institute Gets a Whimsical, Feminine Look

Raul Avila and Jean-Hugues de Chatillon took inspiration from Paul Poiret's colorful, exotic designs, placing a giant gilded birdcage holding four live peacocks at the entrance to the event.
Photo: Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art

For the A-list crowd of fashion makers and followers, the inspiration for this year’s Costume Institute gala, routinely heralded as the party of the year, made for a less conventional look than in recent years. The annual black-tie dinner benefiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute celebrated the early-20th-century artist-couturier Paul Poiret, whose drapey, flowing designs freed women from their corsets, and the museum’s exhibition of his work, “Poiret: King of Fashion.” Nods to the groundbreaking designer included brightly colored, hand-painted fabrics and a giant gilded birdcage with live peacocks. MORE >>

Costume Institute, Vogue, Anna Wintour, Balenciaga

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