Nothing screams glamor like The MET Gala- every fashion lover’s dream night of drama, high-profile stars, and possibly the most extraordinary fashion New York City can take in a single dose. But to the stunning annual event, there's much more than meets the eye.
From Charity to Trés Cher
The Met Gala was established in 1948 by fashion publicist Eleanor Lambert as a fundraiser for the newly founded MET Museum Costume Institute in New York, New York to mark the opening of its annual exhibit. The first gala comprised a dinner, and tickets were an extravagant 50 dollars each (unbelievable, we know).
Over the years, however, the MET Gala has graduated into something entirely new and infinitely more exclusive, and is now one of the most anticipated events of the year.
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Every year, on the first Monday in May, the Gala is put on by Vogue and hosted by a handful of celebrities selected by the woman herself, Anna Wintour. Planning for the event begins a year in advance, immediately following the previous Gala, and is tedious work from start to finish. But it's far less about the red carpet than many realize. Once the public gets their fair share of glam on the steps of the Metropolitan Museum, attendees will enter the building for a private dinner and party, where the real magic happens.
The Works
Brands such as Chanel or Valentino, both of which made several appearances at the 2023's MET Gala, are given the opportunity to purchase one of the roughly 40 available tables inside for upwards of $300,000 apiece. At each table, there are ten seats to be filled by the brand's requested list of celebrities, who must all be approved by Wintour before the official invites go out. And yes, they are all to be dressed to the nines in whichever brand invited them, usually in custom haute couture. This is where labels do most of their marketing and representation, so they have to be sure to choose their faces wisely.
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Once seated inside for dinner and petit fours, these celebrities, designers, and society swans are given the opportunity to network for their brands and make connections that could potentially spark some of the most significant to-be collaborations and perhaps even relationships. None of this, of course, happens by coincidence. The seating chart is meticulously worked and re-worked by Wintour and her team over the weeks leading up to the event, and is curated to create outcomes that only she herself might imagine.
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So though the level of work, dedication, and attention to detail that goes into the Gala itself might seem unnecessary to an untrained eye, upon realizing that the event has both started and ended major careers, opened the doors for iconic couples and duos, and inspired some of the most revolutionary ideas to date, it becomes clear that the MET Gala is easily one of the most essential pillars of fashion. All of the proceeds from ticket and table sales for the event (a near 18 million USD in 2022) still go to the Costume Institute at the MET Museum, and have funded some of the most influential exhibits to date, keeping the world's hunger for fashion alive and breathing.
This Year: Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty
Spare the details, it's no secret that there's one thing that The MET Gala is known most for each year, and that's none other than the theme. In 2023, Anna Wintour selected the theme (as per usual) to honor the late designer Karl Lagerfeld, who dedicated his life to fashion and passed in 2019 after a lasting legacy with Chanel.
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The carpet was flooded with tweed, black and white, vintage hardware, and as per Karl's daily attire, shades galore. Not to mention several looks dedicated to his Burmese cat, Choupette, who earned herself a place in his will.
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Several argued that due to Karl's problematic past and corrupted legacy, the MET theme this year was a disgrace to modern fashion, while others advocated to separate the art from the artist as regardless, Lagerfeld's influence on fashion was undeniable.
By: Mackenzie Ostrowski
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