"A celebrity can be as involved or uninvolved as they want in choosing and designing their Met Gala looks," Jordan explained. "Celebrities, for the most part though, hire stylists to spearhead the project and put their trust in them.
Who decides the theme? Some 400 guests are expected to attend the 2023 Met Gala, dressing to honor the theme decided by the Costume Institute's chief curator, Andrew Bolton. (The theme is then presented to the museum's director and president, before it's ultimately approved.)
The gala's themes are chosen based on the Costume Institute's new exhibitions. While past themes have explored highly conceptual or region-specific motifs, from “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination” in 2018 to “China: Through the Looking Glass” in 2015, individual designers have been honored, too.
It's like a fashion party where there's a theme/dress code every year, and celebrities are bound to dress up accordingly in the most unconventional way instead of playing safe. The designers not only get to work with the celebrities closely but they also get to experiment a lot.
Themes for the Met Gala are chosen in tandem with an exhibition at the museum's Costume Institute. The Lagerfeld-centric exhibition, consisting of about 150 pieces, will be curated by Andrew Bolton, Andrew Bolton, the Costume Institute's Wendy Yu Curator in Charge, and Amanda Harlech, a collaborator of Lagerfeld's.
How much does it cost to attend the Met Gala? Just because you receive an invitation does not mean you don't have to pay to get in. Tickets are more than $52,000 (US$32,000). Many celebrities who attend don't pay for their own ticket.
Firstly, she looks for guests who are relevant and influential in the fashion industry, including designers, models, and fashion icons who have made a significant impact on the industry in the past year. She also looks for celebrities who are currently top of mind and have made headlines in the past year.
Important to note that celebrity attendees generally don't pay for their own ticket, with entry costs and costumes financed by major fashion houses. All the money from Met Gala tickets are then donated to the Costume Institute, as a self-funded department of the museum.
Most of the times, the expensive outfits that are loaned to the celebrities are given back to the designers, as the clothes do not fetch anything more beyond the event. Many celebrity stylists who have worked with several stars have mentioned that there is a budget, which is set while making the designer outfit.
Unlike other charity events, the Met Gala is invitation only and there is a waiting list to get a ticket.
Why is the Met Gala so secretive? Celebrities who go to the Met Gala are banned from taking any social media photos from inside the event. The rule apparently came into play because as it was, guests were spending too much time on their phones and not being present for the high-brow evening.
The Met Gala's most expensive dress
It comes as no surprise that a Kardashian has worn the most expensive dress to the Gala. In 2022, Kim Kardashian got her hands on Marilyn Monroe's custom gown she wore to sing Happy Birthday to President John F. Kennedy.
It has been reported that the most expensive dress ever worn at the Met Gala was Marilyn Monroe's golden gown. Six decades after Monroe wore this famous outfit, Kim Kardashian decided to pay tribute to the late singer by putting it on at Met Gala 2022.
Somehow, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc, and Matthew Perry have never attended the event.
The lush red carpet evening hosts roughly 400 guests, all approved by Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of Vogue and her team. As per media reports, this year, Met Gala's ticket costed a whopping Rs 40 lakh ($50,000) and the price of a table started at Rs 2.45 crore ($3,00,000).
While each ticket for this year's event is $50,000 a person, this doesn't necessarily mean that celebrities are the ones to pay this hefty price. Designers usually purchase a table at the event and then fill it with the celebrities that they are styling, according to WWD.
Be an “It” Celebrity
Here's how it works. The team at Vogue makes a list of just about everyone that's hot at the moment, including musicians like Rihanna, actors and actresses like Zendaya, and models like the Hadid sisters. Then, they suggest to the various fashion houses attending to invite them as their guests.
The MET Gala raises money for the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute, where a collection of more than 33,000 pieces of clothing, jewellery, and accessories that documents fashion from the 1400s to now is displayed to anyone who buys a ticket to the museum.
Anna Wintour has run the Met Gala since 1995, shaping it into the much-loved annual celebration of fashion we know today.
Not every star on the Met Gala guest list will be blessed with a plus one, but a lucky handful of Wintour favourites will be allowed to bring along their current bae of choice. Naturally, though, it helps if you're a double threat power couple (see Gisele and Tom Brady, Kim and Kanye and Blake and Ryan).
Kim Kardashian channels Marilyn Monroe in $5 million 'Happy Birthday' dress | Evening Standard.
Met Gala 2022: Kim Kardashian wears the most expensive dress in the world worth Rs 38 Crore.