New York, NY -- The Annual Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Gala always draws a crowd of celebrities in their most fashionable couture and dripping with jewels.  This year was no exception.  The theme for the Gala this year was "The Model as Muse: Embodying Fashion", and it brought out its usual amazing—and, often, interesting—array of cutting-edge trends.

No one embodied this more than Madonna, who was dressed in a 1980s throw-back blue Marc Jacobs ruched mini-dress with a puffy skirt, thigh-high black boots, jeweled fingerless gloves, and an inexplicable teal hair piece.  While her attire brought us back to her 19802 "boy toy" days, her jewelry was very much fashion-forward.  Although she is now a practicing Kabbalist, Madonna wore Anna Hu`s "Edelweiss" diamond cross, D color diamonds, at about 6 carats.  She also wore Hu`s "Icy Grapes" earrings, made of natural-colored sapphires, emeralds, rubies, and diamonds, at about 28 carats with pear-shaped drop emeralds.  Both pieces are from Anna Hu`s Giverny Garden Collection. 

Also showing off their jewels—borrowed or not—at the annual event were Jessica Biel, in diamond drop earrings; Rihanna, in amazing diamond studs; and Jessica Alba, wearing pear-shaped emerald drops surrounded by diamonds.  Other celebrities in attendance were designer Stella McCartney, Kate Hudson, Liv Tyler, Kate Bosworth, Victoria Beckham, and Tyra Banks.

This year`s event was hosted Justin Timberlake, Kate Moss, Marc Jacobs and Anna Wintour, who worked together to choose the theme for this year`s annual fund-raiser for the charity.  With only 700 tickets available for $6,500 each, all proceeds go to maintaining the museum`s very popular costume collection.  With no permanent them, the museum, instead, chooses a particular designer or era to feature with each exhibition.