| Glitter and Glam: Night of 1000 Stars |
 Jennifer Lopez in a stunning Marchesa, with her husband Marc Anthony  Shalom Harlow with designers Viktor & Rolf  Donatella Versace and Hillary Swank both came adorned in Versace Met Museum's Costume Institute Benefit GalaMay 7, 2007at the Metropolitan Museum of Art 1000 Fifth Avenue at 82nd Street metmuseum.org The Met's Costume Institute Gala is a yearly ($6500!) hot ticket, even if attendees didn't know quite who Paul Poiret, the subject of the adjoining exhibition "Poiret: King of Fashion" is. But if they didn't know before, the Met made the night a crash course in the subject, walking the well-heeled through the Institute to gaze upon Poiret's vintage designs. But to many, that's beside the point, for the real purpose of the Gala for the guests is, as it always has been, to dress to the nines and hob-nob with the greats of fashion. The evening was held in honor of an exhibit at the Met's Special Exhibition Galleries dedicated to groundbreaking designer Paul Poiret, the self-proclaimed "King of Fashion." The exhibit features many of Poiret's early 20th-century designs, and runs from May 9th through August 5th. Best known for liberating women from the stuffy corset, Poiret did not himself know how to sew. Instead, he pioneered a kind of dressmaking more akin to draping than tailoring and drew on Eastern influences, using lush fabrics in eye-catching new ways. Appropriately, fashion designers were the hot arm candy of the evening; Lucy Liu showed up with a shiny Zac Posen, Cate Blanchett hosted the show with Balanciaga's Nicolas Ghesquiere, and Kate Moss...with herself, in her own design for UK Brand Topshop. All the expected stars were on hand, from Lindsay Lohan to the Olsen Twins to J. Lo and Marc Anthony to up-and-comers like Jennifer Hudson. The preferred designs were split between metallic gold and silver gowns (Cate Blanchett, Jessica Simpson) and bright, bold colors like turquoise (Liv Tyler), purple (Lucy Liu, Cameron Diaz) and cranberry (Ellen Barkin, Sandra Bullock). A surprising number of starlets showed up in short dresses: while Eva Mendes and Naomi Campbell looked great showing off some leg, Scarlett Johannson's Stella McCartney number bore a little too close a resemblance to a paper bag. No offense, Scarlett! As usual, this year's Costume Gala was the highlight of the year for stargazers and papparazzi alike. Attending photographer were given what's called a "media alert" list, that over 100 stars would be in atendance, and nearly all of them showed up. Hordes of hopeful fans lined up across the street just for the chance to catch a glimpse of their favorite celebs—but some needed a boost to see over the endless parade of limousines. A bold departure from most of New York's drab, black and white red carpet events, the night was full of colorful fashions, draped over the fabulous bodies of our most colorful stars. The images shown here are just a preview, as we have over 50 exclusive images in the photo gallery!
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