The annual Met Gala took place at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York city on Monday (May 6) evening. Also known as the “fashion’s biggest night”, the event, like every year, saw celebrities in outfits spanning the range from beautiful to bizarre, inspired to inexplicable. But what exactly is the Met Gala? Why do the rich and famous don clothes around a pre-decided theme for a party, and what do they do at the party? Who funds the extravaganza, and where does the money it raises go? What is the Met Gala? The Met Gala — officially called the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute benefit — is an annual fundraising event for the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute, and is generally held on the first Monday in May. Essentially, the costume institute is the only wing of the Met museum that needs to fund itself, and it does so spectacularly through the one party it throws in the year. The party is strictly invitation-only, with a select group of celebrities from across fields making the cut each year. The guests are encouraged to dress up according to the theme decided for the year, which is also the theme for that year's Costume Institute exhibition. Last year, around 400 people were invited, according to a spokeswoman for the Costume Institute. This year, the theme is ‘Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion’. “It will be built around not fairy tales or Disney, but rather treasures in the museum’s fashion collection so old and delicate that they cannot be displayed on mannequins,” according to a report by The New York Times. Since the Met Gala is raising money for a costume institute, the outfits push the limits of fashion and creativity — blessing the internet with material to admire and meme around. And what is the costume institute? According to the museum's website, “The Costume Institute's collection of more than thirty-three thousand objects represents seven centuries of fashionable dress and accessories for men, women, and children, from the fifteenth century to the present.” It began as the Museum of Costume Art, an entity independent from the museum, in 1937. In 1946, “with the financial support of the fashion industry, the Museum of Costume Art merged with The Metropolitan Museum of Art as The Costume Institute, and in 1959 became a curatorial department,” the website adds. How does the Met Gala raise money? The Met Gala is funded by various sponsors each year. This time, the sponsors include TikTok, Loewe — a Spanish luxury fashion brand — and Condé Nast. The money it raises is through the sale of tickets and tables, priced astronomically. According to The NYT, the price of one ticket this year is $75,000 ($25,000 more than last year), with tables beginning at $350,000. The tables are generally bought by big brands and fashion houses. Why is the Met Gala such a big deal? The Met Gala wasn't always the high-profile event with global visibility it is today. It began in 1948, when fashion publicist Eleanor Lambert decided to invite New York's high society for a fundraising dinner, with tickets priced at $50 each. In 1972, fashion columnist Diana Vreeland became consultant to the costume institute, and raised the Gala's profile beyond just a New York city event by inviting famous and glamorous guests, and also introducing the practice of annual themes. Many believe the Gala has attained its current status because of Anna Wintour, the editor-in-Chief of fashion magazine Vogue and Global Chief Content Officer for Condé Nast. Wintour has been the chief organiser of the event since 1999 and personally curates the guest list, making an invitation to the Met Gala a highly sought-after status symbol, a mix of the cream from the worlds of fashion, politics, sports, tech, etc. For example, designers that buy a table invite their own guests, but even that list has to be approved by Wintour and Vogue. Famously, Wintour had in 2017 said she would never invite Donald Trump (who had attended before becoming President) to the Met Gala again. This time, Indians attending the Gala included Alia Bhatt. The show also has officially designated hosts for each year, and this year's included, apart from Wintour, Latino music stars Bad Bunny and Jennifer Lopez, US actress Zendaya and Australian actor Chris Hemsworth What the guests do after getting photographed at the red carpet and welcomed by the hosts is a mystery. No one knows for sure, and guests are not allowed to carry phones, adding to the event's mystique. But broadly, it is understood that they are treated to the costume institute's exhibits before dinner. The event also has high-profile performers to entertain the guests.
