On May 6, 2024, the Metropolitan Museum of Art will host its famous Met Gala to raise funds for The Costume Institute. The event will also kick off the latest costume exhibition titled “Sleeping Beauties: Reviving Fashion,” with “The Garden of Time” as the dress code.
The institute was renovated in 2014 as the Anna Wintour Costume Center with the help of the editor-in-chief of Vogue whose name is on its doors. A Met trustee, Wintour has spent decades making the gala what the museum calls one of the “most visible and successful charitable events in the world.”
“It was a social event. People weren't very excited to go,” Wintour told “CBS Mornings” co-host Gayle King in 2023. “Taking over and trying to make a night of it was pretty intimidating.”
What exactly is the Met Gala?
The Met Gala is a fundraiser that brings together some of the biggest names in the most famous industries. Guests flock to New York City on the first Monday in May to showcase collaborations with famous designers and brands in looks that take months to make.
“The Met Gala has always had a mission, and that is to raise money for important work,” Wintour said.
Guests follow an annual theme and work to reference historical pieces, incorporate innovative ideas, and execute complex concepts that resonate beyond the walls of the Met.
“We're always interested in trying to reflect a cultural moment and what we feel is happening in the world at any given time,” Wintour said of the guests.
“Every year is different, and we try to curate the guest list in a way that makes sense for any theme of the exhibition,” Wintour said.
It's been the scene of notable and much-talked-about pop culture highlights, from Rihanna's arrival in 2015 in a long Chinese cape, to Lady Gaga's multifaceted revelations at the 2019 Camp-themed gala. During For the past decade, fashion nerds, critics, and consumers have been revisiting the red carpet with great precision to understand, through photos and videos, the efforts—and sometimes mistakes—that go into preparing the event
What is the interior of the Met Gala like?
While many have walked the museum's steps and visited its exhibits, very few have done so wearing the best pieces to party and spend thousands (sometimes millions) among titans of film, sports, business, music and society. This rich enrichment is what attracts many to follow and dissect the gala.
Hanan Besovic, the post-pandemic viral voice behind Instagram's @ideservecouture, will have a seat on the sidelines of the action. She'll join a handful of influencers at the Mark Hotel, where many gala-goers are gearing up and prepping for the event, the day of the gala on the Upper East Side, five blocks from the Met.
There, Besovic will observe arrivals and make social content alongside a room of other fashion-obsessed creators hosted by Meta.
As hotel guests emerge from their temporary lair at the Mark after hours of hair, make-up and styling, they step out into a throng of fans and press for a first glimpse of their outfits, before it's time to line up on the steps of the museum.
“Everybody has a minute of our attention and then there's the next person,” Besovic said.
Event chairs are usually the first to appear. This year Zendaya, Bad Bunny, Chris Hemsworth and Jennifer Lopez co-chair with Anna Wintour.
One by one, the celebrities shuffle carefully down the Met's carpeted steps, where thousands of global outlets await to photograph and record every angle. The flawless choreography is seen by what Vogue says are millions via its viral streams.
What happens at the Met Gala after the red carpet?
What happens next is what fuels the most intrigue. In stark contrast to what goes on outside, most of what goes on inside the Met goes unrecorded.
“These tickets are crazy expensive. Brands buy tables,” Besovic said.
It is well known that the evening includes a dinner and a performance. Cher, Rihanna, Madonna and Lady Gaga have performed in past years, among the most coveted and notable artists in the world.
Vogue is usually the only publication with the inside scoop. In 2023, they previewed the gala dinner portion, guided by what they say was one of Karl Lagerfeld's most famous encounters: Paloma Picasso's wedding reception.
These dishes look delicate, colorful and healthy in the Vogue images, with cold spring pea soup and Ōra King salmon served on vintage plates with an assortment of fruit and vegetables for last year's attendees.
Are photographs allowed inside the Met Gala?
“The only bits we get are from social media,” Besovic says of the exclusivity of the event.
Viral bathroom videos and selfies taken by celebrities are the only view inside. Katie Perry dons her campy burger outfit again for the 2019 gala after bumping into Jennifer Lopez near the stands. Les Kardashian posing with Paris Jackson and a group of supermodels. Lil Nas X, Erykah Badu and Jack Harlow pose for a photo. Or, celebrities post elevator videos, like the viral moment with Reese Witherspoon chatting with Cara Delevingne, Zooey Deschanel and Kate Upton. These end up being the only looks within the gala to scroll before the common people hit the hay.
What else do they do at the Met Gala?
When the gala ends, guests rush to the after parties, many of which bounce around New York City throughout the night. The Standard Hotel's “Boom Boom Room” often hosts lists In 2023, singer and actress Janelle Monáe was at the top, according to Women's Wear Daily.
Brands and designers also unleash more fashion moments during the after parties.
In 2016, when model Karlie Kloss hit the town after the gala, American designer Brandon Maxwell adapted her outfit for the “after” by cutting her structured dress into a mini. This year, designers Jean Paul Gaultier and Shayne Oliver will debut a capsule collection, with around 50 pieces in collaboration.
