Prestigious guests, extravagant evening outfits, worldwide media coverage… Every spring, the Met Gala brings together the cream of the world’s fashion and entertainment stars in New York (United States). But what is behind this planetary event? Behind the rhinestones and sequins, what is it for?
Parade of stars, red carpet, evening outfits the most extravagant than each other, string makeup, not to mention a swarm of photographers… No, it’s not the rise of the unmissable Cannes Film Festival. Welcome to the Met Gala, held on May 2, 2022 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (nicknamed the “Met”), USA.
An event where all the cream of fashion, cinema and music are rushing to name a few. But what is behind this planetary event? Behind the rhinestones and sequins, what exactly is the Met Gala for?
What is the Met Gala?
Founded in 1948, the Met Gala was originally a fundraiser used to finance the museum’s fashion department: the Costume Institute. It’s about « the only department of the Metropolitan Museum of Art which must be self-financing », specify our colleagues from the fashion magazine Vanity Fair . In the late 1940s, fashion was seen as a secondary art and therefore unfunded.
The Met Gala has long been reserved for New York’s very high society. In 1995, Anna Wintour, the popess of fashion and editor-in-chief of the American edition of the magazine voguetakes it in hand and transforms it « in event people adapted to the era of social networks”, specifies Agence France-Presse (AFP).
In 2022, the evening is best known and publicized for the outfits, each more extravagant and impressive than the other worn by the guests. This year, the event celebrated « the second part of a two-part Costume Institute exhibition »underlines the magazine vogue . The first one, In America: A Lexicon of Fashionwas inaugurated on September 18, just days after the 2021 edition of the Met Gala.
Where and when does the Met Gala take place?
The Met Gala is held annually on the first Monday in May at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (MET), in the Upper East Side neighborhood of New York in the United States. A tradition disrupted in 2020 by the Covid-19 pandemic.
« Due to the inevitable and responsible decision of the Metropolitan Museum to close its doors, the opening gala will not take place on the scheduled date », had announced at the time Anna Wintour in the columns of the magazine vogue . That year, the event was eventually canceled. In 2021, the edition had only taken place in September.
Who can attend?
A high-end charity event, the Met Gala is not for everyone. Only people with an invitation can go there. Thus for the 2018 edition, an entry ticket cost 30,000 dollars or 28,000 €, while a table cost 275,000 green tickets (about 260,000 €).
Read also: IN IMAGES, IN PICTURES. Stromae, Elon Musk, Billie Eilish on the extravagant Met Gala red carpet
This year, the list of 400 stars of fashion, music, cinema, social networks, politics or business, mainly American, was kept secret until the last moment.
The singers Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo, Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion were notably present as well as the singers Lenny Kravitz and Stromae. The richest man in the world and new owner of Twitter, the whimsical Elon Musk, raised his arms in front of the crowd while actress Blake Lively and her comedian husband Ryan Reynolds also made the trip.