1. Each celebrity in attendance is chosen to wear an on-theme ensemble created by a designer.
2. A ticket to attend the gala starts at $30,000 per person, but some can go as high as $50,000, and entire tables cost between $275,000 and $500,000.
Designers will typically pay for a table and then work with Vogue associates and planners to create a list of attendees that are "approved" by Anna Wintour.
3. According to Amy Odell, who wrote the upcoming Anna Wintour biography titled Anna, because tickets are so hard to come by, some celebrity agents even call and offer huge donations in return for tickets for their clients.
Cameron Silver shared with Page Six, "I've known of society names who couldn't get a ticket and are prepped to go if there's a last-minute seat that becomes available. They have their look ready even if they aren't certain of whether they will actually have a seat days before the event."
4. Paris and Nicky Hilton, Nicole Richie, and the Kardashians were all among the celebrities who tried to get an invite to the event — eventually, Nicole and the Kardashians were successful.
Former Met Gala organizer and Vogue associate Stephanie Winston Wolkoff explained to Odell that they weren't known for "making a difference" in Anna Wintour's eyes. She continued, "The Kardashians had zero style, and their whole reason for who they were was nothing that tied to Vogue."
5. Even though the entire guest list is full of A-list VIPs, Anna Wintour had some VVIPs like Tom Ford, Karl Lagerfeld, and Harvey Weinstein, who have been "discreetly" pulled out of line for the red carpet so they didn't have to wait to get into the party.
6. Smoking is forbidden at the Met Gala. However, every year, celebrities find a way to break this rule.
This photo is like taken at a college party except for the fancy dresses #metgala
It has gotten so out of hand that Department of Health inspectors attend the event to make sure nobody is secretly smoking inside the museum.
this year's met gala theme was smoking in the bathroom
7. Back in 2006, the Sex Pistols' John Lydon stormed out twice because he didn't like where he was seated.
In the New York Times, Cathy Horyn wrote, "John Lydon, the former Sex Pistol known as Johnny Rotten, found his seat — the last at a long table and arguably one of the least desirable in the highly orchestrated seating plan — he was visibly upset...[he] stormed out twice, cursing museum workers."
8. Anna greets each guest at the top of the stairs as they enter, but they're only allowed 20 seconds of conversation before someone moves them along.
9. The seating chart changes frequently throughout the year, but the most important rule is that spouses are not allowed to sit next to each other.
In The First Monday in May, Sylvana Ward Durrett said, "Never seat spouses next to each other. The whole point of these things is to meet new people and to be interested in what others are doing. What's the point if you come here to hang out with your husband?"
10. Back when Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony first started dating, they wanted to keep their relationship a secret, so they had Anna sit them "back-to-back at separate tables." That way, they'd be together, but not ~together~.
11. Because there's such a vast range of celebrities in attendance, many unlikely friendships and relationships form — including Taylor Swift and Tom Hiddleston, who were confirmed to be dating shortly after their Met Gala dance party.
Bradley Cooper and Irina Shayk were also rumored to have been seen together at the party before confirming their relationship. This past year, Channing Tatum and Zoë Kravitz also fueled relationship rumors.
12. Celebrities are spread out enough so some seats don't feel better than others — even Anna herself refuses to sit at the "best" table.
Stephanie Winston Wolkoff explained, “Every area had someone that was prominent enough for everyone to see around them, but they didn’t feel that they were next to the bathroom."
13. Anna Wintour banned chives, garlic, onions, and parsley from being served at the party because they get stuck in people's teeth and cause bad breath. Fish has also been banned because of the smell.
The food must LOOK beautiful too. Tom Ford explained, “What we served had to look right on the plate together. I not only had to see it plated, but if the colors didn’t work together, of the vegetables, and the whatever, they had to go. I remember she commented on that. It was like, ‘But those are carrots.’ And I was like, ‘I know, but they’re orange, they can’t go next to that color, that doesn’t look good. It’s just not going to happen.’”
14. Back in 2019, Kim Kardashian's Thierry Mugler dress was so tight that she wasn't able to sit down the entire night.
15. The Met has even spent over $100,000 to bring celebrities to the event by private jet — including Beyoncé and Jay-Z.
16. People like Sarah Jessica Parker, Anna Wintour, and Anna's daughter Bee also get their own greenrooms where they can touch up their hair and makeup.
17. George and Amal Clooney once requested their own private bar so they could have a drink away from the other attendees.
In 2018, Amal was also given access to the museum's gift shop — which had been decorated with brand-new furniture for the occasion — so she could change clothes in private.
18. When Rihanna performed at the Met Gala in 2015, she charged over $1 million.
19. In 2018, an age limit was instated and only guests 18 and older could attend.
20. Depending on the amount of jewelry worn by a celebrity, some guests are accompanied by their own bodyguards and security escorts in addition to security on staff already.
