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No One Saw It Coming

The Met Gala began in a dead woman’s closet

5/3/202626 min

The Met Gala’s 2026 theme is Costume Art. But rewind almost 100 years ago, and the fight was to get costumes to be called art at all. 

And if a handful of very determined women hadn’t pushed to change that, the Met Gala probably doesn’t exist.

Dr. Elizabeth Lundén is a Kluge Research Fellow at the Library of Congress and she sits down with host Marc Fennell (Stuff The British Stole) to unpack the sliding doors story behind the biggest night in fashion.

Binge all the episodes of No One Saw It Coming now on ABC listen (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts.

Get in touch:

Got a story for us? We'd love to hear from you! Email us at noonesawitcoming@abc.net.au

Clips

The Met Takes The Money
How The First Gala Worked
Vreeland Makes It Spectacle
Fired, Then Reinvented Curator
A Little Shade At Vogue
Inside Moves Outside
No Vreeland, No Spectacle

Transcript preview

First 90 seconds

  1. Speaker 00:00

    [electronic music] ABC Listen. Podcasts, radio, news, music, and more.

  2. Peter Martin0:05

    [pensive music] I'm Peter Martin, host of The Economy Stupid, where we find economics in relationships.

  3. Elizabeth Lundén· Guest0:14

    She only wants a man if he's really, really good.

  4. Peter Martin0:18

    In the Reserve Bank board.

  5. Mark Fennell· Host0:19

    I knew. I knew. Everybody on the board knew recession was coming.

  6. Peter Martin0:25

    And in food.

  7. Elizabeth Lundén· Guest0:25

    It's about the cup of diesel required for the life cycle to get that chicken patty on your burger.

  8. Peter Martin0:30

    The Economy Stupid. Search for The Economy Stupid on ABC Listen or wherever you get your podcasts.

  9. Mark Fennell· Host0:37

    [upbeat music] It is one of the biggest cultural events on the planet, but at its core, this is a giant high-end costume party.

  10. Speaker 00:46

    Everybody this way. To New York now, where the glitterati have gathered in a range of wild outfits for this year's Met Gala. Celebrities, musicians, actors, and even YouTube stars crowd the carpet in flamboyant outfits celebrating the theme.

  11. Peter Martin1:02

    It's actually a fundraising event for the museum's Costume Institute.

  12. Mark Fennell· Host1:06

    [upbeat music] [crowd cheering] Flashbulbs, spectacle, outfits engineered to break the internet, but behind all of this is a story of sharp turns, near misses, and a few moments where this whole thing almost didn't happen.

  13. Elizabeth Lundén· Guest1:22

    World history in terms of costume and dress would have been lost to an extent that I don't think people

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