The Met Gala, an arts fundraiser more commonly known to fans as an extravagant, star-studded night for fashion, will honour fashion pioneered by Black men throughout history on Monday, with celebrities including A$AP Rocky and Colman Domingo set to host.
Key Facts
- The Met Gala will take place May 5 in New York as a fundraiser for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute, celebrating the opening of the museum’s spring exhibition: “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style.”
- The dress code for the evening is “Tailored for You,” which the Met said in a press release is a “nod to the exhibition’s focus on suiting and menswear.”
- Co-chairs for this year’s event include Oscar-nominated actor Colman Domingo, rapper A$AP Rocky, Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton and producer Pharrell Williams, alongside Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour.
- LeBron James will participate as the gala’s honorary chair this year.
- This year’s gala is funded by a few billionaire celebrities—Tyler Perry’s Perry Foundation and George Lucas’s Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation—as well as Instagram and Africa Fashion International.
What Is This Year’s Met Gala Theme?
The Met has defined this year’s theme, “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,” as an “exploration of the concept of dandyism,” a term that originally referred to aristocratic style as far back as the 18th century, which Vogue now defines as an “exuberant attention to dress.”
The showcase and this year’s gala are based on the 2009 book “Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity,” by Monica Miller, chair of the Barnard College Africana Studies department. Miller told Vogue this year’s exhibition will “illustrate how Black people transformed from being enslaved and stylized as luxury items, acquired like any other signifier of wealth and status, to autonomous self-fashioning individuals who are global trendsetters.”
The Met’s exhibition is divided into twelve sections, each representing a characteristic defining the Black dandy style: Ownership, Presence, Distinction, Disguise, Freedom, Champion, Respectability, Jook, Heritage, Beauty, Cool, and Cosmopolitanism, according to the Met’s website. Miller told the Guardian the exhibition examines the idea of “ownership,” particularly the contrast between “being owned and ‘owning it.’’ This year’s exhibition was designed by artist Torkwase Dyson, and artist Iké Udé served as a special consultant.
Who’s Attending This Year’s Met Gala?
This year’s host committee members are André 3000, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Simone Biles and Jonathan Owens, Grace Wales Bonner, Jordan Casteel, Dapper Dan, Doechii, Ayo Edebiri, Edward Enninful, Jeremy O. Harris, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Rashid Johnson, Regina King, Spike Lee and Tonya Lewis Lee, Audra McDonald, Janelle Monáe, Jeremy Pope, Angel Reese, Sha’Carri Richardson, Olivier Rousteing, Tyla, Usher and Kara Walker, according to the Met.
Zendaya, a Met Gala favorite for her extravagant looks conceived of by her stylist, Law Roach, will attend, Roach told E! News earlier this month. Rihanna, another Met Gala regular, has not confirmed whether she will attend, though speculation has grown since her longtime partner, A$AP Rocky, is a co-chair.
Actress Blake Lively, also known a regular attendee, has not confirmed whether she will attend amid her legal battle with “It Ends With Us” director Justin Baldoni, though TMZ and People both cited sources claiming she and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, will skip this year’s gala.
Big Number
$75,000. That’s how much a single Met Gala ticket costs, the New York Times reported, while tables of 10 sell for $350,000. Celebrities are typically sponsored by brands who purchase tickets for them.
Surprising Fact
LeBron James, this year’s honorary co-chair, is playing in the NBA playoffs for the Los Angeles Lakers against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Timberwolves lead the series 3-1, though if the Lakers keep winning, James could have a game the night before the gala, according to the NBA’s schedule—and if the Lakers win, it’s unclear whether James will attend.
How Can Viewers Watch The Met Gala?
The Met Gala will be broadcast on Vogue’s digital platforms and on its YouTube channel beginning May 5 at 6 p.m. EST. Singer and actress Teyana Taylor, actress La La Anthony, and comedian Ego Nwodim will host the broadcast, and social media star Emma Chamberlain will return as Vogue’s special correspondent.
Key Background
The Met Gala has had a decades-long history as a fundraiser for the Met’s Costume Institute before transforming into an extravagant fashion showcase. The first gala was held in 1948 as a midnight dinner party, though it did not begin to transform until then-Vogue editor-in-chief Diana Vreeland joined as a consultant in the 1970s. Last year’s exhibition was titled “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion,” and the dress code for attendees was “Garden of Time.” Other recent themes include “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty” in 2023 and “In America: An Anthology of Fashion” in 2022.
