This Year, You Can Buy Met Gala Merch On Instagram

A new capsule collection by a different designer, including Prabal Gurung, Aurora James, Kerby-Jean Raymond and Virgil Abloh, will drop every month from September 2021 until April 2022.

The Met Gala is introducing Instagram-exclusive merch this year. In line with the theme, “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion,” the museum has teamed up with American designers to create limited-edition capsule collections. The pieces will be exclusively unveiled and sold on Instagram, which is the sponsor of this year’s Met Gala.

When launching the merch, the museum will offer “a series of unique virtual shopping experiences,” as reported by Vogue. A new collection by a different designer will drop every month from September 2021 until April 2022, with one of eight American designers highlighted each month: Virgil Abloh of Off-White, Emily Bode of Bode, Aurora James of Brother Vellies, Christopher John Rogers, Hillary Taymour of Collina Strada, Rio Uribe of Gypsy Sport, Prabal Gurung, and Kerby Jean-Raymond of Pyer Moss.

In 2019, The Met enlisted designers to create merchandise inspired by that year’s over-the-top theme of “Camp” — and it resulted in some very interesting (albeit extremely pricey) items like Moschino-exclusive Barbie dolls and pre-COVID era bedazzled face masks. This year, with an American-themed fashion event, the possibilities for social commentary are endless. As more retailers are utilizing IG’s in-app shopping feature, The Met is making it easier for fans to participate in fashion’s biggest night with their virtual merch launch.

Each capsule will be unveiled in an Instagram live shopping event, starting with Virgil Abloh’s collection. On September 10 at 11:45 a.m. EST, the Off-White designer and Instagram’s VP of fashion and shopping Eva Chen will host a live unveiling of the collection on Vogue’s IG account. As the products are unveiled, they’ll be made available for purchase via The Met Store’s Instagram account. If supplies don’t sell out right away, Vogue reported that the merchandise will also be available at The Met Store’s online shop. The Met Store ships to Canada, but as for the IG-exclusive merch, watch this space for updates about Canadian shipping information.

After having to cancel last year’s event because of COVID-19, The Met Gala is wholeheartedly embracing virtual participation this year — with a recent announcement that the event will be entirely live-streamed by Vogue for the first time ever. We can’t wait to catch a glimpse of the merch for the long awaited 2021 Met Gala, which is taking place on September 13.