Where To Watch the 2024 Met Gala: Theme, Origins, Guests, Invitation Price…

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The Met Gala, popularly known as «fashion’s biggest night», is largely considered one of the most prestigious and glamorous events in the world. Only those personalities who are relevant enough to society (in diverse fields including fashion, cinema, television, music, sports, business, etc.) are invited.

The event is held annually on the first Monday of May when the Costume Institute opens its doors to its annual fashion exhibition on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Guests are expected to curate their fashion to match the theme of the annual exhibit; this year, as you may know, it’s Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion.

However, the Met Gala has not always been like we know it today. It all started being a common fundraising event that incredibly turned in one of the most iconic nights for pop culture.

Where to Watch the Met Gala

With the event led by Vogue‘s editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, it’s the magazine that has the exclusive livestream (Vogue.com), which will kick off on May sixth at 6 p.m. ET. Many other media outlets will also be on-site, such as ET. You can also follow all the updates through social media.

Origins of the Met Gala

The Met Gala was first established in 1948 by fashion publicist Eleanor Lambert as a fundraiser for the Costume Institute, which had previously merged with the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1946.

The first gala consisted of a modest but elegant dinner, and tickets were available for $50 each. During the first few decades of the celebrations, the Met Gala was simply one of many annual charity events in New York. It was attended exclusively by the city’s high society and held at various Manhattan venues such as Central Park or the Waldorf Astoria.

However, everything changed when the socialite Diana Vreeland, known for being a fashion columnist and the editor-in-chief of Vogue, became the new consultant to the Costume Institute in 1972.  Then the gala began to evolve into a much more international and fashionable affair, becoming increasingly exclusive with guests like Diana Ross, Elizabeth Taylor, Elton John, and Andy Warhol intermixing with New York’s elite.

In 1995, Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of Vogue, assumed the chairmanship of the Institute, adding new international celebrities to the guest list and consolidating the Met Gala as one of the most prominent and exclusive fashion events worldwide while maintaining its fundraising objective.

Met Gala Themes Across the Decades

It was Vreeland who made the Met Gala more associated with popular culture, thus becoming an event with great publicity and press coverage. She even introduced diverse innovative Gala themes, with the first one being “The World of Balenciaga” in 1973, and also curated other exhibitions including “Romantic and Glamorous Hollywood Design», “Vanity Fair: A Treasure Trove», and “La Belle Époque», among others.

The themes behind the MET’s celebration encompass diverse aspects of fashion, history, and culture. They have been inspired by countries and their traditions (like «China: Through the Looking Glass» in 2015 or «AngloMania: Tradition and Transgression in British Fashion» in 2006), music (like «Rock Style» in 1999 or «Punk: Chaos to Couture» in 2013), and different fashion icons («Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty» in 2011, «Christian Dior» in 1996 or «Gianni Versace» in 1997), among other topics.

How Much Does It Cost to Attend the Met Gala?

The ticket price to attend the Met Gala has greatly varied over the decades. Especially, taking into account that throwing the event costs around $3.5 million. While in 1973 guests could enter the event by paying $100, now, only if you’re lucky enough to be invited to the MET, you must pay between $30,000 and $50,000, according to Business Insider. And if you want to reserve a table, you must pay from $275,000 to $500,000.

Many of attendees pay their own way, but many others are sponsored by brands since it’s a great place to make promotions (as Kylie Jenner did last year with an outfit that did not follow the main theme but surely announced her latest campaign with Jean Paul Gaultier). Sponsors can secure tables and invite who they want, but it’s Wintour who surely has the final say in who is getting into the MET.

And you? Would you like to be invited to the Met Gala despite knowing the ticket price?