Stairs of the Met Gala - Quem magazine

By: Rafaela Moreira (Grade 4)

During this month of May, many people were talking about the Met Gala and its polemic theme but, what is it and why is it so important?

Met Gala, or Met Ball, is formally called the Costume Institute Gala. It’s held on the first Monday of May at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET) and has traditionally been timed to mark the opening of its annual fashion exhibition. The Met Gala is a charity event that’s considered a fundraiser for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute. In 2022, they broke the record of $17.4 million dollars raised for the museum.

Every year, only the glitziest A-list celebrities and biggest names in fashion are invited. The head of the event is Anna Wintour, who has been the editor-in-chief of Vogue since 1988, and who plans everything to the tiniest detail. Besides Anna, there are other main people who help her organize the event, the co-chairs. Being a co-chair at Met Gala means you need to help make the entire guest list, the menu, the decoration and the attractions of the entire evening. All of this mentioned before has to match the year’s theme. The co-chairs change every edition. For example, this year’s were Dua Lipa, Penélope Cruz, Michaela Coel and Roger Federer.

Ok, but how do all these people get invited? So, there are a few ways to earn a ticket to the Ball. The first is by being a mega donor to the museum, the second is by being a big fashion house or company, which will secure a table. Even so, both ways aren’t 100% accurate that you’ll get an invite, that depends on Anna Wintor.

We already know that you have to be invited to attend the party. Besides that, you need to pay tickets to enter, which, this year, are about $50,000 dollars. Sometimes, brands like Gucci, Prada and Versace buy tables and choose which celebs they would like to sit at their table and wear their designs. Although even that is supervised by Anna Wintor.

But, why is this night so famous? Back in the day, when it all started, the goal was, as it was already mentioned, to raise funds for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute. Nowadays, even though it is still the goal, it has also become an event for showcasing the talent of the numerous designers. The Met is considered the fashion industry’s premier annual red carpet event, one of the most prominent events across the globe. Celebs come from all over the world to walk the red-carpet flaunting outfits from varied fashion designers.

Now, I have a recommendation for you! If you would like to know more about it you can see some films that portray the Met Gala. For example: Ocean’s 8, The Devil Wears Prada and The First Monday of May.

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