The First Monday of May has arrived, and with it the opening of the Costume Institute’s exhibit “Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between.” Tonight, those who Anna Wintour has deemed hip and beautiful enough to do so will gather at 1000 Fifth Avenue in New York City to celebrate the queen of avant-garde. Scroll down for a few fun facts about tonight’s event.
1. The Met Gala goes by many names — “fashion prom” per The Cut, “the Super Bowl of fashion” per Vogue, “the Oscars of the East Coast” per just about everyone, “a miserably hot party” per Gwyneth Paltrow. (Side note: Paltrow’s harsh words have not undermined her friendship with Anna.)
2. This year’s hosts are Anna Wintour (as always), Tom Brady, Gisele Bündchen, Katy Perry and Pharrell Williams.
3. Tickets cost a cool $30,000 apiece, tables are about $275,000. The party and exhibit are sponsored (this year by Apple, Condé Nast, Farfetch, H&M and Maison Valentino), so all proceeds go to benefit the Met’s Costume Institute. Last year, the event raised around $13.5 million for the fashion museum.
4. Expect to see lots of Valentino and Comme des Garçons on the red carpet (for obvious reasons).
5. No, most of your favorite celebs won’t have shelled out thirty large. Brands typically invite A-listers to sit at their tables (and walk them down the red carpet). This year, Bella Hadid will be Alexander Wang’s date.
#MetGala ready. Behind the scenes with @bellahadid, now on Instagram Stories.
A post shared by ALEXANDER WANG (@alexanderwangny) on
6. Less than 600 people will attend tonight’s festivities. (It’ll be a more “intimate” and “private” affair than last year.)
7. Anna Wintour, HBIC, personally approves every guest who wishes to attend (even those who are to receive a third-party invite from brands who’ve bought tables). She fills the list with the top achievers in the music, film, live theater and fashion spheres.
8. Social media is verboten once Gala-goers step off the red carpet (although we seem to recall quite a few bathroom and elevator selfies from last year’s event).
9. The New York Times speculates that Beyoncé, who usually makes the final entrance, will be sitting out the festivities due to her being with (multiple) child. However, she made it to Mama Tina’s fundraising event on Saturday night, so we remain optimistic. If Bey does choose to abstain, it’ll be interesting to see who takes her coveted closing spot.
Inaugural Wearable Art Gala in support of WACO Theater Center
A post shared by Beyoncé (@beyonce) on
10. Kanye West will not be in attendance. Ye will reportedly be laying low and relaxing with Nori and Saint. Kim Kardashian will walk the red carpet stag, allegedly in Vivienne Westwood.
11. Since it’s pretty much impossible for laypeople to get a ticket, we’ll be posting all red carpet looks live beginning at 7 p.m. EST.
[ via the New York Times ]
