Which exhibition was the theme of the 2009 Met Gala, focusing on fashion models as cultural icons?

The 2009 Met Gala exhibition was titled Model as Muse: Embodying Fashion.

The exhibition explored the changing relationship between fashion designers and models from the mid-twentieth century onward. It presented models not merely as people who display clothing, but as influential figures who can shape style, publicity, and the public image of a fashion era.

The show considered figures including Dovima, Twiggy, and Kate Moss, whose appearances and personas became closely associated with particular periods in fashion history. It also examined how photography, magazines, and celebrity culture helped elevate models into cultural icons.

The title is sometimes confused with American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity, which was the 2010 exhibition. Model as Muse specifically refers to the 2009 Met Gala and its focus on models as creative and cultural participants.