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Mykenna Maniece
- The Met Gala is famously exclusive.
- In 2024, individual tickets cost $75,000, while entire tables cost $350,000.
- Guests are treated to a co*cktail hour, dinner, and exclusive performances.
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One of the most intriguing qualities of the Met Gala is its exclusivity.
Each year, the guest list is approved by Vogue's editor in chief, Anna Wintour, but attendance requires more than an invitation — there's also a hefty entry fee.
Time reported that individual tickets for 2024's Met Gala, which is a fundraiser for the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute, cost $75,000, up from $50,000 in 2023. Tables started at $350,000.
Tables are usually purchased by design houses, brands, or companies, which then choose whom they'd like to invite to the table, which requires approval from Wintour, too.
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So while only a select group of elite people experience the grandeur of the Met Gala, the rest of us are left to wonder what that entails.
Of course, there's the famed red carpet and the over-the-top fashion, but here's a peek inside the Met's walls — the co*cktails, menus, exhibits, and exclusive performances attendees get to witness.
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A ticket grants you the most important thing of all: access.
There once was a time when even Kim Kardashian couldn't get an invite to the Met Gala.
Amy Odell, the author of "Anna: The Biography," told Time in 2024 that an invitation was a "really huge signifier that you are 'in.'"
Eaddy Kiernan, Vogue's contributing editor and Met Gala organizer, told Vogue in 2024 that the seating chart started getting prepped in December but ultimately came together a month before the event.
"We really try to think very carefully about who's sitting next to each other," Kiernan said. "Our ideal pairing would maybe be two people who we think will just get on like a house on fire but who may not even realize that they have a lot in common. So with each person, we really do take time to think, 'What will they talk about?'" she said.
Such access and quality seating have the potential to yield incredible business outcomes.
With access secured, attendees walk the red carpet in outfits meticulously planned according to the dress code and theme.
Here's Blake Lively at the 2018 Met Gala, which was themed "Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination."
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Once inside, they mingle during co*cktail hour.
Guests of the 2019 Met Gala could enjoy "crispy sea bass hors d'oeuvres, bits of foie gras, or mini-BLT towers," The Associated Press reported.
And, of course, it wouldn't be co*cktail hour without the drinks.
Here's a tray of one of the signature co*cktails served at 2023's gala.
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Guests also have the opportunity to view the Met's exhibit during co*cktail hour.
2021's exhibit was "In America: A Lexicon of Fashion."
The Metropolitan Museum of Art said this exhibit included about 100 men's and women's ensembles from the 1940s to the present, each displayed in cases representing 3D quilt patches. The exhibit was organized into 12 sections, exploring emotions such as joy, wonder, desire, and nostalgia.
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After co*cktail hour, guests take their seats for a formal dinner.
In accordance with 2023's theme, "Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty," the tablescape was inspired by the wedding reception Lagerfeld hosted for Paloma Picasso in 1978.
Vogue reported the tables included "French linen napkins, varnished hand-painted candelabras, and bouquets with Red Command and Coral Charm peonies."
Like the decor, the evening's menu was created with Lagerfeld in mind. It had "chilled spring pea soup with baby vegetables, lemon crème fraîche, and truffle snow, followed by Ōra King salmon with vegetable nage, asparagus, picked strawberries, and radish," Vogue reported.
2023 Met Gala caterer Olivier Cheng told the publication, "There is a sophisticated elegance to these pairings, one we feel that he would have truly enjoyed."
And to drink, guests were offered wine and, surprisingly, Diet co*ke, a favorite of Lagerfeld's.
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The menu in 2018 included cacio e pepe pasta, baby lamb chops, lobster, and branzino.
Dessert was gold-dusted truffles, chocolate-dipped cape gooseberries, and an amaretto Semifreddo cone topped with a gold pearl, Vogue reported.
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Surprise performances are also a key feature of the night.
Bieber's denim-on-denim outfit was more Canadian tuxedo than "In America: A Lexicon of Fashion," but we'd still love to know how the room reacted to his performance.
The tradition of Met Gala performances started in 2010 with Lady Gaga singing "Bad Romance" as part of the year's "American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity" exhibit.
Other notable performances include Frank Ocean's "Super Rich Kids" in 2014 and Madonna's "Like a Prayer" in 2018, per The Cut.
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Lizzo was the latest Met Gala performer.
Vogue reported that she performed songs such as "Juice," "About Damn Time," and "Cuz I Love You." She also played the flute alongside the flutist James Galway for a duet of "Flight of the Bumblebee."
Don't worry, attendees still have plenty of time to party.
Here are the rappers Cardi B, Bad Bunny, and Doja Cat striking a pose in 2023.
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For those who can't get enough of the fun, there's an annual after-party.
The Met Gala started hosting its annual after-party in 2010.
Celebrities often change into different looks before hitting another round of red carpets and events.
2023's after-party was hosted by Janelle Monáe.
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