Met Gala

The Met Gala, or Met Ball, stands for Costume Institute Gala or the Costume Institute Benefit. The purpose of the Gala is to fundraise for the benefit of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute in New York City. It’s widely regarded as the world’s most prestigious fashion event, and an invitation is highly sought after.

Celebrities from various professional spheres, including fashion, film, television, theater, music, business, sports, social media, and politics, are invited to the gala, organized by the fashion magazine Vogue.

The Met Gala is an event held annually on the first Monday of May.

Every year, the event celebrates the theme of that year’s Costume Institute exhibition, which inspired the formal attire of the night. The guests are expected to curate and design their fashion outfits to match the theme of the exhibit.

Granted that participating at the Met Gala is possible by invitation only, according to Vogue, editor-in-chief Anna Wintour approves each of the more than 500 invitees. Tickets are $35,000 each.

Oftentimes, Met Gala isn’t without its controversy. The lack of BIPOC designers has been an ongoing issue recently, which is only accentuated by the recent American themes. Sometimes there are also mixed opinions when invitees wear historical artefacts, and performative activism continues to spark questions of authenticity.