Everyone’s been talking about Priyanka Chopra’s costume at the Met Gala 2019, and memes have already started flooding the internet. While some are aware what the Met Gala is all about, some are still wondering why most of the celebrities were dressed in such out of the box costumes for the Met Gala. The Met Gala is all about coming out of your comfort zone literally, to raise funds. The Met Gala is held every May in New York, and every year they have a different theme and the attendees especially the celebrities dress up as per the theme.The year the theme was Camp: Notes on Fashion.
And if you thought Priyanka went over the top with her outfit, we’re wondering how Katy Perry managed to sit down for dinner! Katy came dressed in two chandeliers, one on her head and one around her waist, complete with lights that lit up! She later changed into a giant burger costume. While Cardi B came dressed in what we Indians would say resembled a ‘beetroot dosa’ kinda dress, she wore a floor-length oxblood dress, that needed almost five people to help her carry it. It was Kim Kardashian’s wet look that caught everyone’s attention, she came complete with beads giving the impression of raindrops washing over her nude body. Though in the 70s, Cher stole the spotlight too in a similar looking nearly nude gown.
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For the rest of us mortals, the Met Gala has been interesting just to watch pictures and videos of all these people wearing their own weight in diamonds and feathers. During the 2016 Met Gala, the theme was Manus ex Machina, and almost the entire Jenner-Kardashian clan came dressed in sparkling Balmain motherboards! And it was at the 2004 Met Gala, where President Trump proposed to his wife, Melania. Who can forget how Trump proposed to Melania with a 15-carat, emerald-cut diamond ring, worth $1.5 million!
So what is the purpose of the Met Gala? You may ask. The Met Gala, earlier also known as the Costume Institute Gala or the Met Ball, marks the opening of the Costume Institute’s annual fashion exhibit, and is an annual fundraising gala for the benefit of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute in New York City. The Met Gala has also got other unofficial names like The party of the year, and the Oscars of the East Coast because of the fact that it sees a lot of stars attending it and walking and posing at the red carpet, on the entrance stairs to the museum. All of the money from ticket sales goes to the Costume Institute.
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How Are The Celebrities Invited?
The Met Gala is invitation only, and there is a long waiting list. While some celebrities have to buy the ticket, some don’t, as the brands they endorse often pay for the table. But even if a company buys a table, it cannot choose everyone who sits at its table. The list is handpicked by Anna Wintour, the Met Gala’s chair and it must clear the guest and get an approval by her and Vogue. Wintour is an extremely important figure at the Met Gala since she took things to the next level after she became a co-chair in 1995. She turned the Met Gala into a competition to the world renowned Oscars and that’s not all it’s raised a great deal of money too, so much so that the Costume Institute wing has her name on it! So you want to go to the Met Gala? Get into Anna Wintour’s good books first!
Though people can buy their way into the Met Gala, by paying for the ticket. The cost of the ticket in 2019 was $35,000, and an entire table was for between $200,000 and $300,000. While some museum guests get to attend for free too.
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If celebrities are invited to the gala by a brand, they have to wear clothes from that brand.
Here’s What Actually Happens At The Met Gala?
Since the last three years, posting on social media has been banned after the red carpet and photographers from the press aren’t allowed inside the event too. Vogue has exclusive access to photos from the actual party and later even does a special stand-alone issue on the same.
But what mostly happens at the Met Gala is, guests arrive on the red carpet (This year the carpet was a rose pink) and explore the gallery first before dinner. They have performances post that. This year Cher was cheered on by the attendees for her super performance.
Even guests have been forbidden to post anything other than the red carpet, on social media . So nobody other than the ones attending it know much about what happens inside. After the red carpet, everyone sits down to dinner and drinks and enjoys live performances.
Though the documentary The First Monday in May, claims that inside the Met Gala, Anna Wintour dislikes people using their cell phones and she also bans things like parsley and bruschetta as parsley can get stuck in your teeth and bruschetta can fall on your dress!
Well, I don’t like bruschetta or parsley and I can leave my phone behind! Ms. Wintour am I invited next year?
