Julia Roberts dresses up in honour of Met Gala Monday

In normal times, a host of stars would have donned their finest last night for one of the most stylish parties of the year, the Met Gala 2020.

However, the coronavirus pandemic meant the annual glamorous event, held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, had to be cancelled.

Determined to still mark the occasion, Julia Roberts slipped on a stunning black and white gown - featuring a bandeau design and organza skirting.

Posting to her 8.6m followers on Instagram, the actress, 52, shared a snap of her posing by a large window in her bathroom, perched on the side of a bathtub filled with foam.

Read more: Pregnant Katy Perry reveals cone corset she planned to wear to Met Gala

Captioning the image, the star wrote: “Here’s me...not going to the Met Ball tonight. #stayhome #yesyoustillhavetostayhome”

Julia’s fans left more than 612,000 ‘likes’ on the tongue-in-cheek picture.

Fellow actress, Rita Wilson - who is married to Tom Hanks - jokingly commented: “My Met Ball outfit this year is a lovely sweat suit with divine fuzzy slippers.”

The Met Gala, which began in 1948, has been cancelled before - including in 1963, following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, and in 2002, after 9/11.

Read more: Met Gala fans recreate iconic celebrity outfits to mark the event’s planned date

It comes as Katy Perry shared a sneak peek at “what would have been” her outfit for the celebrity-packed fundraiser.

The pregnant singer, 35, who is expecting her first child with fiancé Orlando Bloom, revealed yesterday evening that she was due to wear an eye-catching Jean Paul Gaultier corset, which would have highlighted her baby bump.

It would have paid homage to the French designer’s iconic cone bra, famously worn by Madonna during her Blonde Ambition tour in 1990.

Captioning a picture of the look on Instagram, the star wrote: “What would have been… #TheMetBall2020.”

Read more: Have you tried the quarantine pillow fashion challenge?

Her fans were delighted by the impromptu outfit reveal, and left more than 640,000 ‘likes’.

The theme of this year’s gala, hosted by Vogue's editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, was going to be “About Time: Fashion and Duration.”

In lieu of the actual event, fashion fans have been reviving their favourite past looks on social media.

Providing some light relief, actress Mindy Kaling recreated Jared Leto’s iconic decapitated head look.

Similarly, actor Ned Fulmer took on Rihanna’s 2018 silver embellished ensemble using tin foil.

Before a postponement was confirmed, this year’s theme was set to be a glorious journey through the history of fashion from 1870 to the present day.

In March, Wintour stated: “Due to the unavoidable and responsible decision by the Metropolitan Museum to close its doors, About Time, and the opening night gala, will be postponed to a later date.”

She added that her magazine would be previewing the Louis Vuitton-sponsored "extraordinary exhibition" which the gala would have launched - ‘About Time: Fashion and Duration’ - in its May issue.