19-Year-Old Designer To Make Debut At Monday Night's Met Gala

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Some dub it the "Oscars of the East," or the party of the year.

The Met Gala is being held Monday night and dreams will be coming true for a young fashion designer, CBS2's Vanessa Murdock reported.

The who's who of Hollywood and high fashion hit the red carpet here in the Big Apple.

"We will see Rihanna. We will see Amal Clooney," Entertainment Tonight's Keltie Knight said.

Knight said Jennifer Lopez was expected to be there, too.

"Will she walk the red carpet with A-Rod? They debuted their relationship at last year's Mets Gala," Knight said.

Each year, the potentially jaw-dropping, eye-popping fashion focuses on a specific theme. This year it's heavenly bodies: fashion and the Catholic imagination.

"There is going to be opulence. Expect crowns and a ton of gold and everything to be big and huge," Knight said.

"The exhibition explores the historic relationship between fashion, art and religion inspiring one another and resulting in some of the most innovate creations in the history of fashion," said museum president Dan Weiss.

The exhibition spans 60,000 square feet throughout 25 galleries. The cornerstone is 40 masterworks directly from the Sistine Chapel, many of which have never traveled outside the Vatican before.

"The exhibition situates costumes alongside religious artworks to provide an interpretive context for fashion's engagement with Catholicism," curator Andrew Bolton said. 

It's one of the gala's most controversial themes, but curators say religion and fashion are undeniably connected.

One inspiration for the exhibit was Pope Benedict the Sixteenth's red shoes, which earned him the title Accessorizer of the Year by Esquire in 2007.

"In the Catholic imagination, the truth, goodness and beauty of God is reflected all over the place, even fashion," said Cardinal Timothy Dolan.

Knight said she expects to see a lot of Gucci, Valentino and, perhaps, Versace.

One designer we're certain you'll see is Katya Ekimian, who is all of 19 years old. 

"This is the most important thing I've ever done," Ekimian said.

Monday night will mark her Met Gala debut.

"I'm just so excited. I mean, I've loved the Met, even as going all the time as a little kid," Ekimian said.

In fact, the 2015 Met Gala theme inspired her senior prom dress. The striking red gown was all hers -- from concept to final stitch.

Throughout high school Ekimian crafted dresses for herself and her girlfriends. She said she always dreamed her work would grace the red carpet and it's happening.

Ekimian is a sophomore at Parsons, majoring in fashion design and works several jobs odd jobs. How did she react when asked to design for the gala?

"I was in shock, definitely," Ekimian said. "Even still now, I don't think I'm going to really register it until she walks on the red carpet."

Work started started in January. Ekimian sewed three muslin iterations.

"These were the original cutouts. In the second version, I added the piping," she said, showing Murdock her work.

The final design is a nod to this year's theme. The cutouts resemble leaded glass windows and loosely mimic a cross. The fabric is a deep blue and black brocade.

"I put so much work into this and I'm so excited to see her in it," Ekimian said.

So are we, but we have to wait until Monday night, when her work of art is unveiled on the red carpet.

Ekimian said she expects to shed tears of joy watching from home.

The event raises millions for the Met's Costume Institute.

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