Met Gala 2024: What is this year's theme and who is hosting?
Fashion’s biggest night is approaching.
Stars of film, fashion, music, sports, politics and social media will ascend the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York on Monday to sip cocktails, have dinner and sample the new exhibit: “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion.”
But what will we see out on the Met steps? And how will the event unfold? ITV News explains.
Who's hosting this year?
The year’s co-chairs - alongside Vogue editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour - include Met Gala mainstays and debuts.
Actor Chris Hemsworth will make his first appearance at the event, while Zendaya will return for the first time in several years.
Superstar Jennifer Lopez and rapper Bad Bunny will also be joining the group.
Honorary chairs include Loewe creative director Jonathan Anderson and TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew.
What does the MET gala theme mean?
In February, the Met revealed Ballard’s 1962 short story “The Garden of Time” as the forthcoming red carpet theme.
The theme takes its title from a 1962 short story written by British author J. G. Ballard, set in a garden filled with translucent, time-manipulating flowers.
Ballard, who is closely associated with New Wave science fiction, often set his searingly relevant dystopian stories in eras of ecological apocalypse or rising dissenting technologies.
The theme will accompany the main exhibition, titled “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion,” featuring pieces from the Costume Institute archive that span four centuries.
Many of the garments are so delicate, they can no longer be touched - let alone worn -without proper conservation equipment.
How much do you have to pay for a ticket?
You cannot just buy a ticket and there is no guaranteed way to get invited to the Met Gala.
Each year, Wintour decides who makes the guest list and who’s relegated to the waitlist.
The criteria for the Met Gala depends on a variety of factors seemingly known only to Wintour, ranging from timely achievements to cultural clout.
In the event that you are approved by Wintour and extended an invitation to attend, there’s still the cost of entry.
This year, an individual ticket costs $75,000, while a table, which is often purchased by companies, design houses or brands, starts at $350,000.
Those that buy a table, however, do not get to choose who sits with them; all seating arrangements must be approved by Wintour.
What happens inside?
Entering the museum, guests walk past what is usually an enormous flower arrangement in the lobby, with perhaps an orchestra playing nearby, and over to cocktails.
Or, they head to view the exhibit. Cocktails begin a half-hour earlier this year, so they start at 5:30 pm and last for about two hours, followed by dinner.
The most famous - or those who plan the biggest entrance - sometimes come (fashionably) later.
Who is coming?
Rihanna is the queen of dramatic entrances and late arrivals and she’s said she’ll be attending, describing her outfit variously as “chill” and “simple”. Likely, the superstar and mogul will again bring partner A$AP Rocky.
Other high-profile partners likely to attend, because their significant others are hosting: Ben Affleck and Tom Holland.
Hot off the Oscars, nominee Lily Gladstone has said she’ll attend and has teased a tantalizing fashion collaboration involving a major designer and an “unbelievable Indigenous artist.”
Another fashion-forward awards circuit luminary everyone wants and expects to see on the Met steps: Ayo Edebiri.
It is unclear whether or not Taylor Swift will be attending as she is resuming her Eras Tour in Paris three days later, but she has made tight timelines work before.
Tune in to the ITV News entertainment podcast, Unscripted