Attention all you fashionistas: It’s Met Gala time. Yes, the first Monday in May is upon us. Looking to follow along? Here’s a quick primer on what you need to know about the palooza of A-list celebrities from film, fashion, music, sports, politics, and social media.
That’s tricky. Vogue has the exclusive livestream, which starts at 6 p.m. Eastern at Vogue.com. The feed will also be available on Vogue’s digital platforms, including TikTok and YouTube.
Tons of other media will be on-site, too. Catch the action on E!, also starting at 6 p.m., with livestreams on X, TikTok, Instagram, and Peacock.
The Associated Press will be live outside the Mark Hotel, where many celebs get ready before heading to The Metropolitan Museum of Art for their walk up the grand staircase. That livestream will begin at 4:45 p.m. Eastern and will be available on YouTube and APNews.com.
Only the event’s stacked red carpet is watchable — the gala’s cocktail hour and dinner are notoriously private events.
It’s a party, for sure, with cocktails and dinner for about 400 invited guests, but it’s also a huge fundraiser for the Met’s Costume Institute, the only department at the museum required to pay for itself. Last year, the gala raised about $22 million. Anna Wintour, a Met trustee for whom part of the institute has been renamed, organizes the whole shebang. No phones are allowed, adding to the allure.
There’s a dress code each year tied to the museum’s spring exhibition. Some guests, not all, step up at the request of Wintour. This year’s theme is “The Garden of Time,” inspired by J.G. Ballard’s 1962 short story of the same name. It’s a squishy fashion ask considering how specific last year’s theme was: all things Karl Lagerfeld. Florals, and more florals, are expected this time around. Vintage will likely be big, too.
It’s called “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion.” But we’re not talking fairy tales or Disney princesses. It includes 250 items from The Costume Institute’s permanent collection, including some garments very rarely seen in public and so fragile they need to be under glass. Curators wanted to engage all the senses, including that of smell. They worked with a “smell artist.” And there’s a garment that actually grows. Part of the idea is to pay tribute to the natural world. The exhibit opens to the public Friday and runs through Sept. 2.
Getting called up by Wintour as a co-chair is a big deal. This year’s class is Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez, Bad Bunny, and Chris Hemsworth. It’s Hemsworth’s first Met Gala. Shou Chew, chief executive officer of TikTok, and Jonathan Anderson, creative director of Loewe, are honorary chairs. The companies are also gala and exhibition sponsors.
Who attends is top secret, but Rihanna has spilled she’ll be there. She’ll likely be accompanied by her partner A$AP Rocky. Other high-profile partners likely to attend, because their significant others are hosting: Ben Affleck and Tom Holland. Lily Gladstone has said she’ll attend. Who we want to see: Ayo Edebiri. Taylor Swift is looking like a no, and her boyfriend Travis Kelce will definitely not be there. Dua Lipa is going.
As the anticipation builds, all eyes will be on the Met steps for that grand entourage of fashion visionaries and their muses. Will the themes of nature and illusion prove fertile ground for sartorial innovation? How will the stars interpret the “Garden of Time” and impress fashion royalty? With every A-list step on the red carpet, history is made, and fashion boundaries are either upheld or intriguingly crossed.
Beyond the glitz, the success of the night is also a testament to the power of charitable giving, as millions are raised to support the arts and maintain the Costume Institute’s existential mission. For one night, the line between style and philanthropy blurs into a ceremonious celebration of creativity and generosity.
With whisperings and wonder, negotiations with couture designers, planning of extravagant arrivals, and endless speculation about who will wear what, the Met Gala once again secures its place as the ultimate convergence of fashion, culture, and spectacle. We will reunite on the first Monday in May to witness yet another unforgettable night of fashion’s grand opulence and its embrace of the conceptual exhibition, marking another page in the annals of Met Gala history.
