Each day we get closer and closer to the most momentous, most glamorous Monday of the year: The Met Gala.

For the first time since 2019, the first Monday in May will mark fashion’s most spectacular event once again. With 2020 being canceled outright and the 2021 event postponed to September, this sensational evening is finally back and bigger than ever.

Bring me Rihanna in elaborate ball gowns with giant skirts, bring me Zendaya floating up the stairs — and Jason Derulo tumbling down them — bring me Harry Styles (with Olivia Wilde, please-please?) looking ethereal, Billy Porter transported in by shirtless models, and Lil Nas X strutting about in metallic armor or dripping diamonds.

After the stunning displays of sartorial experimentation at the 2022 Oscars (Read our Best Dressed list here!), I can’t wait for this year’s (hopefully redemptive) Ball.

The 2022 met gala theme is a continuation of last year, culminating in a two-year exhibition. 2021 was In America: A Lexicon in Fashion, and In America: An Anthology Of Fashion premieres on May 2nd, 2022 — a regularly scheduled Gala. Although the theme was decided years ago by Andrew Bolton, the Wendy Yu Curator in Charge of the Costume Institute feels timely as the country reckons with its very identity.

This year’s event also celebrates the Costume Institute’s 75th anniversary. According to Bolton, the night pays homage to the American fashion community “to acknowledge its support, and also to celebrate and reflect upon American fashion.”

Compared to more established houses in Europe, American fashion has been an underdog in fashion‘s Western landscape. While American designers have often helmed major European powerhouses — such as Virgil Abloh at Louis Vuitton — American brands find it more difficult to gain the same pedigree.

While fashion can be exclusionary in many ways, often the best parts of American fashion reflect the best parts of American culture.

In Highsnobiety’s recent tell-all interview, “Read This Before You Decide to Work in Fashion,” which is a cutting insider’s take on the fashion industry, Eugene Rabkin highlights the most redeemable part of the industry. He describes this as: “the aspirational class — the immigrants, the expats, the minorities, the restless souls with the kind of passion that often comes from desperation and the desire to make something out of nothing.”

This year’s Costume Institute Exhibit endorsed designers’ concoctions that represent marginalized communities and use fashion as a tool for creativity and storytelling, rather than as a marker of status.

Many visionary designers will grace the red carpet at the Met Gala for their pioneering work. However, last year’s disappointing showing at the Met Gala makes us wary of what this year will bring.

Despite the opportunity for unique, refreshing fashion showings at the 2021 gala, we ended up with boring tat, prom-like gowns, and garish ensembles. Current maximalist trends were at odds with the classic silhouettes which inspired the event’s motif. Lackluster wares made for mighty a weak statement on American Fashion.

In fact, most of the looks made us cringe.

Controversial guests like Addison Rae and Madison Beer proved the skeptics correct by pulling up in ill-fitting prom dresses. Some of the more statement outfits fell so flat they were hard to look at. I mean … I can barely believe Ciara wore a neon green, sequined cutout dress. And let’s not forget that it was emblazoned with a jersey number and she accessorized with a football — Kaepernick is taking a knee somewhere.

Even the highly anticipated guest list of the night was controversial. The elephant in the room: Timothee Chalamet wore converse. And sweatpants? The outfit was confusing and the juxtaposition was debatably successful — but his charm carried it.

This year, however, the theme is similar but it’s thankfully not a repeat.

“Gilded Glamor” is a more traumatic view of American fashion. Thematically taking cues from the Gilded Age of oil money, railroads, and big skirts with big hair. This year’s chairs are Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Lin Manuel Miranda, and Regina King. Perhaps this overtly dramatic affair will inspire gowns with trains as long as the carpet, wigs so heavy you worry for the wearers’ necks, and fashion that reflects the theatre of our times.

As usual, I’ll be in sweatpants watching from my couch, critiquing thousand-dollar dresses and ensembles that took days to assemble.

But even if I’m merely watching from the comfort of my sofa, the Met Gala, which takes place at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, inevitably inspires my summer fashion year after year. I love daring to dress up. And feel like I’ve been granted implicit permission from the Met Gala. to express myself through audacious and dramatic clothing choices.

One of my most recent places for some fabulous inspiration has been Vivaia. It’s my go-to place for my clothing and accessory needs. After all, no matter the cost of your outfit, the accessories can make or break it.

If I learned anything from the 2021 Met Gala is that details matter. Every piece of an outfit is important, from your statement pieces to your jewelry or footwear. And good shoes and accessories can run you a pretty penny. But they don’t have to. Vivaia has high-quality products that check all the boxes: affordability, style, and sustainability.

Vivaia‘s core mission is to create stylish, sustainable footwear that is eco-friendly and responsible. They have carved out a line of luxurious and fashion-forward footwear with exceptional quality at a fair price. They expanded into accessories to broaden the scope of their mission, and now they’re my favorite place to shop.

While thrifting for second-hand or eco-friendly clothing is getting easier, I found that there are few brands that feature sustainable accessories or stylish shoes. Vivaia is changing that landscape and changing the world.

This year, I hope to see a similar focus on sustainability in the fashion world at large. One sustainable, Vivaia-clad step at a time. We can only hope.