What is the Met Gala and why is it so hyped?

~ Making it simple ~

The month of May is here and a lot of us living on the internet are aware of what that means in the entertainment/fashion world. The Met Gala is hosted on the first Monday of May every year and celebrities around the world spend a fortune to attend the event wearing something no one on the planet would ever wear under normal circumstances. They voluntarily subject themselves to a good deal of commentary online – both appreciative and vicious – because the after effects in terms of popularity is apparently worth the trouble.

What is the Met Gala?

In simple terms, the Met Gala is supposed to be a ball – like the ones we see in Disney movies where the prince and princess dance around in elegant costumes. However, this event is a modernised version of a ball where the attendees pay a massive amount to be invited in the first place, and come dressed in adherence to a prescribed theme. The gala is organized by Vogue – the well known fashion magazine that offers good coverage for the celebrities that come well dressed to the gala. However, it is organized for the benefit of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET) which has a Costume Institute at Manhattan. All the money generated from the attendees is directed to the Institute. The money doesn’t go to charity so the event doesn’t really have any social significance.

What the MET have to do with high fashion?

MET is the world’s fourth largest encyclopaedic art museum, located at New York City. Their costume institute has everything to do with fashion as it preserves fashion timestamps and milestones from around the world. This institute receives its annual funding from the Met Gala. The institute is quite expensive to manage considering the extravagance involved in managing the collection. Brands, celebrities and sponsorers are more than willing to spend hefty sums to be a part of the event that sponsors the Costume Institute.

When did the Met Gala begin?

The event began way back in 1948 as a fundraiser for the same costume institute which had just recently become a part of the MET. Even then, it was reserved for the elite section of the society who came well dressed to have dinner. Eventually it turned into a high fashion event and moved across locations so that publicity could catch up with it. It is quite impressive that the tradition has thrived to the level of global domination in the world of fashion and entertainment and today, every celebrity big and small hopes for an invite to the annual fundraiser. It is notable that the gala became a global sensation when Vogue joined hands with it in 1995.

Why is there a theme every year and how is it chosen?

Met Gala comes with a theme that acts as a guide/framework for attendees to come dressed a certain way. They can’t really come as they wish, but there’s plenty of scope for experimentation and creative expression within the given framework because the themes are usually rather wide. The Chief Curator of the Costume Institute and his team take a long time to finalize the event’s theme which will also be the theme for the institute’s annual display. The themes are usually quite artistic and challenging – throwing a challenge at the world’s best designers to interpret it in the most unique and impressive manner. It usually makes them revisit a culturally significant time/movement/instance and interpret it such that the modern audience gets an idea. The world knows that the attendees take it as seriously as they’d take anything ever. We’ve seen celebs walk that carpet wearing God knows what as some truly impressive and truly questionable interpretations of the respective year’s theme.

What happens at the gala?

From everything on the internet, it’s basically a dinner party with celebrities wearing outrageous things. They walk the red carpet where they get clicked and recorded left and right – and that’s their chance to make an impression that could last a whole year and provide content to about thousand creators online. Its a shame they don’t walk into a massive ballroom after that and dance like kings and queens. They alter their costumes if they wish to make themselves more comfortable for dinner where they are also entertained by well known performers. None of what happens in the dinner hall is recorded – probably to make the hefty tickets worth it by giving the attendees a sense of exclusivity. Sure, after parties follow.

Why is the event so hyped?

The clear and the most obvious reason for the hype surrounding the Met Gala is the glamour quotient associated with it. The costumes are kept a well guarded secret until the appearance and there’s an element of curiosity associated with every attendee. Everyone is interested to know what statement a celebrity is making and who outshines the rest. Not to mention that the aesthetics of the event are on point and are a treat to the sight. There really is no substantial consequence to the event other than the turmoil it creates in the fashion and entertainment world. Though the Costume Institute benefits heavily from it, no socially relevant consequence follows.

Other reasons include the grand opportunity the gala provides for celebrities to make statements. There have been celebs in the past who have used the platform’s reach to make socially relevant statements with their appearance, attire, attendance and so on. However, what impact that has made other than some discussion on social media is quite unclear.

Also a reason for the hype could be the vast opportunity it provides for the world’s elite to network and be seen coordinating. Its not like they need a gala for that to happen, but it could be a small contributing factor.

To conclude

The Met Gala is basically a party of the elite world that the rest of us consume in the same manner we consume hyper-realistic films. While I do feel that the platform is huge enough to be used to serve some bigger, social relevant purposes, I’m also not opposed to the idea of the entertainment and bling that it brings every year. After all, there’s some challenge and international significance associated with it. Hopefully there will be some impact associated in the future .