The Ins and Outs of the 2024 Met Gala

The fashion community’s favorite day of the year is right around the corner, and everyone is eager to know the who, what, and where. Since the Met Gala is every fashion lover’s Olympics, let’s go over everything you need to know before the big day arrives. 

The Met Gala is a charity event run by Vogue’s Anna Wintour that serves as a fundraiser for The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute and raises millions of dollars each year. It's one of the most highly anticipated events in the fashion community, marking the beginning of a new era for red-carpet fashion. 

The only Met Gala details we aren’t fed is what happens inside the luxurious art museum. The event is extremely strict on its no phone or social media policy, however, you can still catch a glimpse of footage from various celebrities and fashion reporters. Vogue also posts a variety of looks and interviews from the evening. 

Another detail that is kept top secret is the celebrity guest list, or at least until the night before it is. The invite list changes every year, but you can always expect to see plenty of familiar faces. The event typically consists of longtime A-list celebrities or celebrities that have maintained a relevant status for that year, as well as big names in the fashion industry such as designer Donatella Versace and highly acclaimed celebrity fashion stylist Law Roach. 

This year’s Met Gala is set to occur on Monday, May 6th around 6 p.m. EST in New York City at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, continuing its tradition of taking place on the first Monday in May. The event’s theme will celebrate the Costume Institute’s new exhibition, “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion” with the official dress code being “The Garden Of Time.”

Last year’s Met Gala’s theme was “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty” and it served as a tribute to Karl Lagerfeld and his incredible work. From Balmain to Chanel, guests arrived at the grand event wearing stunning looks inspired by Lagerfeld’s most notable designs and iconic fashion looks. The 2023 Met Gala was hosted by highly acclaimed celebrities including Penélope Cruz, Michaela Coel, Roger Federer, Dua Lipa, and Vogue’s Anna Wintour.

This year’s lineup of hosts also includes star-studded celebrities such as Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez, Bad Bunny, Chris Hemsworth, and as usual, Vogue’s Anna Wintour. The co-chairs' jobs are to help Wintour plan the big night and ensure everything goes smoothly. 

One of the biggest changes to the Met Gala that has caused plenty of controversy is the idea of inviting social media influencers to the grand event. Over the last three years, various social media influencers such as Addison Rae, James Charles, and Liza Koshy have been granted invitations to multiple fashion events including the Met Gala. According to an interview with Amy Odell conducted by Time Magazine, Wintour’s decision to invite influencers to attend was motivated by the desire to maintain relevance. 

“The Met Gala is content, right? All these events, including fashion shows and premieres, really exist to get sprayed across social media,” said Odell in an interview with Time Magazine. 

However this year, Anna Wintour has put a stop to the phenomenon, after many declared that the Met Gala had “lost its reputation and significance” with the rise of influencer guests. Wintour is enforcing more exclusivity for this year’s grand event, allowing only the most prominent names in the fashion industry to attend alongside the star-studded celebrity guest list. 

The only exception, however, is of course Vogue’s very own influencer-turned-celebrity, Emma Chamberlain. Since scoring a career with Vogue, Chamberlain has officially secured her spot on the Met Gala’s invite list every year. The once-teenage YouTuber and fashion influencer moved her way up the ranks by modeling for various brands, launching her own coffee company, and landing a job as a special correspondent for Vogue. 

Another longtime and recurring issue has been the lack of effort to be on theme from attending guests. Every year, there are three group categories, those who dominate the theme, those who do not understand the theme, and those who simply do not care for the theme.

Among those who dominate the theme every year, are Blake Lively, Rhianna, and this year’s very own host, Zendaya. Unfortunately, Blake Lively will not be attending this year’s gala due to being away for Ryan Reynold's new film and Rhianna’s status on attending this year’s gala is still unknown. However, we can look forward to whatever grand masterpiece Zendaya has planned and hope that other fashion icons step up their game this year. 

With the arrival of many hit films, albums, and projects, we should be spotting many new faces at this year’s grand event, including Golden Globe winners Ayo Edibiri and Lily Gladstone as well as some rising stars like Gracie Abrams and Mike Faist. 

This year we can expect to see a lot of florals, animalistic prints, and other nature-inspired pieces. Since this year’s gala will have an emphasis on fragile archives or “Sleeping Beauties”, we can also expect to see a lot of never-before-worn pieces as well as custom-made pieces referencing unforgettable runway looks from the past. 

For more information on this year’s upcoming Met Gala, check out Vogue’s website or stay tuned on their various social media platforms.