It’s the first Monday in May, and you know what that means: It’s the biggest night in fashion. The Met Gala, the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s annual charity event, showcases the pinnacle of themed haute couture each year on the red carpet. From lavish to edgy, celebrities and Hollywood’s elite dress to impress — or at least cause a stir.
Memorable looks from last year included Kim Kardashian sparking controversy in Marilyn Monroe’s glittery 1962 outfit and Blake Lively in An ode to Liberty in a dazzling copper and oxidized green gown. In addition to Anna Wintour, chief content officer at Conde Nast and global editorial director at Vogue, pop star Dua Lipa, actress Penelope Cruz, tennis player Roger Federer and screenwriter Michaela Coel will serve as co-chairs for the event.
Here’s everything we know about New York’s most anticipated fashion event. To catch fashion’s biggest night, watch the Met Gala arrivals and red carpet interviews on E! or on Vogue’s website on May 1 at 6pm ET. The Met Gala red carpet is the most coveted runway in the history of pop culture. Often dubbed the “Oscars of fashion” and the “Super Bowl of fashion,” the star-studded fundraiser’s main event — at least to the populace — was its flashy submissions.
From politicians to Hollywood stars, the red carpet is the night everyone knows, when the A-list elite don their much-anticipated attire, from the dressy to the zany, as they gingerly climb the stairs of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This year, fashionistas and reality TV fans alike are eagerly awaiting whether the Kardashian-Jenner family will receive an invite following rumors that they may be banned.
But when the last guest arrived and entered the museum, the cameras stopped rolling – save for the official preview, shot by an in-house professional photographer.
Official rules prohibit celebrities from being photographed indoors to maintain an appearance of secrecy during the event — which includes visits to exhibitions, dinners and cocktail parties — although the glamorous guests have been known to object to violating the cellphone ban.
The theme for 2023 is Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty, in honor of the late style icon, who died of pancreatic cancer in 2019 at the age of 85. This year, participants are advised to dress “in honor of Carl.”
As an ode to the design genius’s decades-long career, from 1954 to 2019, the Met will display 150 sets of Lagerfeld’s looks, complete with original sketches.
In addition to his own label and collaborations with Balmain and Chloé, Lagerfeld was creative director at Chanel and Fendi, and played a key role in the fashion houses’ forays into the luxury space. The designer, who was close friends with Wintour, was also notorious for his sharp tongue, which often got him in trouble.
Actress Jameela Jamil criticized the Met’s decision to honor Lagerfeld, citing some of his most offensive comments and “paranoid” beliefs — namely his contempt for “curvy women” and his criticism of the #MeToo movement . In 2017, he sparked outrage by invoking the Holocaust while criticizing Germany’s openness to Syrian refugees.
