Things you probably did not know about the Met Gala

The Met Gala, formally known as the Costume Institute Gala or the Costume Institute Benefit is the annual fundraiser charity event for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Known as the "Oscars of the Fashion World", the extravagant affair is a mainstay in the calendars of the New York High Society and the most important and contemporaneously relevant VIPs in the worlds of fashion, arts, culture, sports, film, music, and even politics.

It is considered one of the most popular and exclusive social events in the globe while also cementing its status as one of the biggest fundraising nights in the city. In 2022, the gala raised a record $17.4 million. With the Met Gala being one of the most prominent sources of funding for the institute, the total contributions surpassed $200 million in 2019.

The institute now has a collection of 33,000 objects representing seven centuries of fashion for men, women, and children starting from the 15th century to the modern day.

A brief history of the Met Gala

In the early 1920s, theatre producer Irene Lewisohn and stage designer Aline Bernstein devised what would become the foundation of the Met's Costume Institute holdings: a collection of costumes that theatre designers could look to for inspiration. By 1946, the collection had grown to 8,000 pieces and joined the Metropolitan Museum of Art as the Costume Institute.

In 1948, the famed fashion publicist, Eleanor Lambert started the fundraising charity event for the costume institute, marking the opening of its annual exhibit.

The first gala consisted of a dinner and tickets were $50 each. From 1948 to 1971 the event was held in various venues across New York, ranging from the Waldorf Astoria, the Rainbow Room to Central Park.

In 1972, former Vogue editor-in-chief, Diana Vreeland became a consultant for the Costume Institute. Under Vreeland's supervision, the gala turned into a globally opulent event, featuring more A-list celebrities such as Elizabeth Taylor, Elton John, Andy Warhol, Liza Minnelli, Jackie Kennedy Onassis, Bianca Jagger, etc. She also introduced the gala themes and held the gala at the Met.

After the death of Vreeland in 1989, socialite Patricia Buckley took over the gala until current Vogue editor-in-chief Dame Anna Wintour assumed the chairmanship of the institute in 1995. Anna is credited for bringing an air of mystique and exclusivity to the event like no other, deciding the who's who of fashion and pop culture and even bringing in politicians and royalty to the event.

In 2005, she moved the gala from early December to the first Monday of May. Under her reign, since 2004 the red carpet has become more costume centric.

How the themes are chosen

The Costume Institute's yearly exhibit and the corresponding gala theme is created by the institute's chief curator Andrew Bolton and researched for years before being approved.

Once Bolton and his team draw up a concept, the theme must be approved by the director and president of the Metropolitan Museum of Art—Max Hollein and Daniel H Weiss, respectively—and Wintour, a process that can take up to a year. 

The logistics of the Met Gala

The Met Gala has a limited number of guests with the number being restricted to 650-700 per year. The guest list is guarded secret every year. The event starts with a cocktail hour followed by a formal dinner. Guests arrive and walk on the red carpet on the iconic Museum stairs during the cocktail hour, tour the year's special themed exhibit and then sit down for dinner where they are entertained by a prominent contemporary entertainer at the Temple of Dendur within the museum. The guests are expected to dress in line with the theme.

The price of the tickets to the Met Gala is speculated to be $50,000 in 2023 with tables ranging from $250,000 to $300,000. Fashion brands such as Gucci, Louis Vuitton, and Yves Saint Laurent along with big companies such as Amazon and Apple buy tables at the event. But just because you can afford to buy a $50,000 ticket does not mean you can gain entry to the event. You need to be a benefactor of the museum with considerable donations to secure an invite and purchase the tickets.

What about your favourite celebrities? They do not purchase the tickets. The associates of Vogue work with brands to create a curated list of attendees including A-list celebrities, which is then approved by Anna Wintour.

There are stories of Wintour letting the companies know that the guests they are inviting are not up to par with her standards, followed by her replacing those guests with her choice of people.

Anna greets each of the guests at the top of the stairs but they are allowed only 20 seconds to have a conversation with her before they have to move up for the next guests. The seating chart is also approved by Anna Wintour with celebrities spread out enough so that no table feels like the "bad table". Another rule is to never seat spouses together. Wintour's approach is that the event should serve as an opportunity to network among the guests and meet new people.

Cell phones and smoking are banned from the event. Despite the restriction, there are many iconic celebrity bathroom selfies showing them smoking so now there are Department of Health inspectors attending the event to ensure no one is smoking in the museum. Guests also have to be over the age of 18.

Anna has banned garlic, onions, and parsley from being served at the party because they get stuck in people's teeth and cause bad breath. Fish has also been banned because of the smell. She also focused on the presentation of the food, even rejecting certain vegetables off the plates because the colours did not coordinate.

The Met Gala 2023

The theme of the 2023 spring exhibit is "Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty" celebrating the late prolific German designer's unparalleled work at Chanel, Fendi, Balmain, Patou, Chloe, and his eponymous label with 150 pieces of his glorious work along with his sketches.

The gala was held on Monday, 1 May 2023. The exhibition will open to the public on 5 May 2023. The dress code for the Gala is "In honour of Karl". Co-chairing this year's event are actors Michaela Coel and Penélope Cruz, tennis giant Roger Federer, singer Dua Lipa and, as always, Vogue's editorial director, Anna Wintour.