2024 Met Gala: A look at fashion's yearly event

The 2024 Met Gala: A Comprehensive Guide to Fashion's Annual Event

The Met Gala is happening tonight, and it's time to make predictions: Which attention-grabbing vintage piece will Zendaya sport? Who will execute the most surprising stunt, outdoing Jared Leto's 'twin' or Doja Cat's feline prosthetics? Inside, which stars will disregard the no-photos rule to snap bathroom selfies? How late will Rihanna arrive?

What's this year's theme, and who are the co-chairs?

This year, the red carpet theme is "The Garden of Time," inspired by a 1962 short story of the same name by British author J.G. Ballard. The Costume Institute's exhibition, "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion," focuses on the connection between nature and technology, utilizing AI, CGI, and other tools to revive countless delicate archival items spanning centuries. The theme is selected every year by Andrew Bolton, the Costume Institute's curator-in-charge.

The first celebrities to grace the event are the co-chairs: Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez, Bad Bunny, and Chris Hemsworth, the latter making his Met Gala debut.

Bad Bunny, Jennifer Lopez, Chris Hemsworth and Zendaya will co-chair this year's Met Gala for the exhibition

What goes down at the Met Gala?

A flurry of A-list entrances, photograph sessions, and an abundance of glamor on the red carpet takes place during the opening hours. Inside, guests explore the exhibition, which later becomes accessible to the public. The seated dinner follows, and mobile phones at the table are discouraged. The seating chart is meticulously designed by Anna Wintour, the organizer since 1995. Wintour approves of every guest in attendance.

Though the red carpet and afterparties draw the most admiration, the gala primarily serves as a fundraiser, with tickets starting around $35,000 and raising millions of dollars for the museum each year. In 2023, proceeds totaled almost $22 million, as indicated in the book "Fashion's Big Night Out."

Inside the Met Gala, only professional photos are technically allowed. Anna Wintour tries to keep the event social-media free, and discourages phone use at the table.

What was last year's theme?

The conceptual theme is likely to differ from the year before, when the dress code celebrated the late fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld. He died in 2019, but over his career, he left his mark on Chanel, Fendi, and other luxury houses. Celebrities, including Anne Hathaway, Nicole Kidman, and Jenna Ortega, wore designs from these houses. Doja Cat paid homage to Lagerfeld's cat, Choupette. However, some found the tribute to the controversial designer unappealing, given his past derogatory comments on women's bodies and reluctance to advocate for more inclusive beauty standards.

When did the Met Gala begin?

Last year, guests paid tribute to the late Karl Lagerfeld by mimicking his personal style, wearing his designs and channeling his cat, Choupette.

The Met Gala started in 1948 as a fundraiser for the fledgling Costume Institute. Tickets originally cost $50.

Since the 1970s, the gala has metamorphosed from an industry gathering at off-site venues to a prestigious affair for celebrities and New York society. In the 1980s, Vogue editor Diana Vreeland positioned the gala as the opening event for the Institute's major exhibits. In the 2000s, Wintour, her successor, welcomed high-profile musicians, actors, and entertainment personalities, making the gala one of the most-anticipated events in the fashion industry - and beyond. In 2023, the software firm LaunchMetrics found that the Met Gala produced close to double the 'media impact value' for brands compared to the Super Bowl, totaling $995 million.

What was the inaugural Met Gala theme?

The inaugural theme was "The World of Balenciaga" in 1973, tied to a retrospective of the couturier Cristóbal Balenciaga. Halston and Calvin Klein were among the attendees, according to "Fashion's Big Night Out."

Early themes included "Romantic and Glamorous Hollywood Design," "The Glory of Russian Costume," and "The 18th-Century Woman." Attendees stuck to traditional eveningwear until the 2000s, when more adventurous choices and social media coverage helped emphasize the themes. The most notable themes in recent years have been "China: Through the Looking Glass," "Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination," and the divisive "Camp: Notes on Fashion," thanks to celebrities like Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Zendaya, and the Kardashian-Jenners, who use the red carpet to entertain.

Every year, there are whispers about who might not be welcome at the Met Gala due to some offense towards the event or its host, Anna Wintour. However, the Vogue editor has only publicly named one person she wouldn't invite back: Donald Trump, whom she mentioned during an appearance on James Corden's late-night show in 2017.

Olivia Wilde and Margaret Zhang doubled up on the same outfit in 2023.

There have been other guests who've sworn off the gala, like Demi Lovato, Zayn Malik, and Tina Fey. In 2015, five years after she attended the event, Fey described it as a "jerk parade" on "The Late Show with David Letterman."

"If you had a million arms, all the people you'd want to punch in the whole world — they're all there," said Fey. "I mean, I was there, clearly I was one of them."

But some celebrities change their minds. Gwyneth Paltrow once referred to the Met Gala as "un-fun" in 2013 and said she'd "never" go again, but she returned in 2017 and 2019.

The pair joked about the faux pas on social media after.

What are some things you shouldn't do at the Met Gala?

Many Met Gala attendees have disobeyed the no-social-media rule to give a more honest peek into the event and its attendees. In 2017, some guests even smoked inside the museum bathroom, angering the museum's donors, according to reports.

Rumors of physical altercations also abound: most famously, ten years ago, an after-party fight ensued between Jay-Z and Solange, which has since become known as the Met Gala elevator fight.

Finally, a major fashion faux pas involves wearing the same outfit as someone else. While it's said that Wintour also helps choose guests' outfits, last year Olivia Wilde and former "Vogue China" editor Margaret Zhang appeared in the same 70s-inspired Chloé violin dress in different colors, leading to playful memes poking fun at the coincidence. "Great minds," Wilde captioned an Instagram post. "If you're gonna twin with anyone, make it @margaretzhang."

Read also:

At the event, stars will showcase their unique takes on the theme "The Garden of Time," with some potentially incorporating the concept of stylish time-travel into their Fashion choices.

Later in the evening, Zendaya, as a co-chair, will gracefully embody the harmony between nature and technology's influence on Fashion, reflecting the exhibition's theme.

Source: edition.cnn.com