Even though the event is months away, planning a soiree like the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Gala takes massive preparation. Vogue and the Metropolitan Museum of Art announced the much anticipated theme of the 2010 gala: American Women: Fashioning a National Identity.

The exhibition, which will run from May 5, 2010 to August 15, 2010, will take a closer look at American women from 1890-1940 and how these women have influenced our perceptions of the modern woman. “American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity” will trace the archetypes of dress and femininity from 1890 to 1940, and then examine how they affect how women are perceived today. The ideal of the American woman evolved from a dependence on European, Old World ideas of elegance into an independent New World sensibility that reflected freedoms still associated with American women today,” said curator Andrew Bolton in a statement. “The show will look at fashion’s role in defining how American women have been represented historically, and how fashion costumes women into archetypes that still persist in varying degrees of relevance.”

The Party of the Year, the annual Costume Institute Gala Benefit, will take place at the museum on Monday, May, 3, 2010 and it will be hosted by Oprah Winfrey, Patrick Robinson of the Gap, and Anna Wintour, Editor-in-Chief of Vogue.

According to co-chair Patrick Robinson, the partnership between the Gap, Vogue and Met seemed like the perfect partnership at the perfect time. “Gap is part of the American heritage,” says Robinson. “Especially for the modern woman. If you look at snapshots throughout our forty-year history, you can see it reflected in the fashion of the times—from Sharon Stone wearing a Gap tee-shirt to the Oscars, to the idea of wearing khaki on “casual Fridays”  to, more recently, when we dressed the entire floor of the New York Stock Exchange in denim.  It just makes sense that women would express themselves over the years with an iconic American brand that evolves with them.”

Met Gala 2009

Gap President Marka Hensen shares in his excitement.  ”It’s a really wonderful feeling for us to be involved in such a special and important event,” Hensen says. “There is a great synchronicity among all the elements—this idea of being both empowered and inclusive—that is very much in line with our brand.”  As to what she plans to wear to the gala? “I’ll start worrying about that in the spring,” she laughs. “Right now, I still have no idea!”

Over 75 pieces of couture and high fashion (some that haven’t been seen in public for 30 years) will be on display from the Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection. Featured designers include Charles Frederick Worth, Charles James, Valentina and Madeleine Vionnet.