China was celebrated in the evening of May 4 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute in New York City. The event, also known as the Met Gala or Met Ball, marks the grand opening of the Costume Institute's annual fashion exhibit --- an annual fundraising event for the benefit of the Museum. Monday's glamorous event was attended by hundreds of celebrities from Europe and the United States who were seen wearing complex and fantastic China-themed costumes.

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Each year, the exhibition sets the tone for the attire of the night where guests are expected to match their fashion to the theme of the exhibit. This year's theme is "China: Through the Looking Glass," which according to the curator, Andrew Bolton, the exhibit reflects a "collective fantasy of China."

The exhibition, organized by The Costume Institute in collaboration with the Department of Asian Art, explores the influence of Chinese aesthetics on Western fashion for centuries --- from the earliest European contact with China in the 16^th century to the present.  The show presents High fashion along with Chinese traditional costumes, paintings and objects including films that reflect the enchanting imagery of the Chinese culture.

The exhibition also showcases a hundred samples of haute couture and avant-garde fashion by designers from Paul Poiret to Yves Saint Laurent who have taken inspiration from Chinese cultural imagery. Chinese films are also incorporated in the show to highlight the importance of cinema for further understanding and appreciation of the richness of Chinese history and culture.

Celebrities who attended the Met Gala exhibited a variety of creative ways in their Chinese-inspired outfits such as Ivanka Trump's floral blue and white Ming vase inspiration. For Vogue, some of the best outfits that used the floral motif were worn by Bee Shaffer, Jennifer Lopez, Marissa Mayer, Reese Witherspoon, Gigi Hadid, and Sienna Miller.   

Dao-Yi Chow, Jenna Lyons, and Maxwell Osborne of Public School all gave a new life to pants while Diane Kruger, Liya Kebede, and Lady Gaga wore transparent dresses for trousers, with the pop star adding a lattice-like cape to her outfit.  Other celebrities who took on the superheroine style were Lisa Airan, Hannah Bagshawe, and Janelle Monáe who also wore a dramatic cape as an alternative to a floor-length gown.

Then there were the daring outfits that showed lots of skin such as those worn by Kim Kardashian West and Beyoncé whose outfits were merely composed of carefully placed sequins and feathers for that ethereal and sexy look. 

Kendall Jenner was also noticeably gorgeous in her Calvin Klein Collection dress with an intricate lace embellishment up her side.  

TagsMet Gala, celebrities, Fashion, Metropolitan Museum, Culture, China: Through the Looking Glass, Met Gala Chinese culture, What happened in Met Gala, Met Gala looks, Met Ball Red Carpet, Gowns that show Chinese culture