The Met Gala 2023: Secrets revealed and where to watch today’s big fashion event

Actress Blake Lively arrives at last year's Met Gala Celebrating "In America: An Anthology of Fashion" at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Photo / Getty Images

Forget the glitz of the Oscars and daring dress of the Grammy Awards, the real fashion red carpet is upon us: The Met Gala.

The exclusive fashion event - for which tickets costs a whopping US$30,000 ($48,000) and a table is a break the bank US$275,000 ($444,000) - is often referred to as the Superbowl of fashion because it’s the biggest style parade on the planet attended by the who’s who of celebrity.

First held in 1948 as a fundraiser for New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art’s costume institute, it became the fashion behemoth we know it as today when Vogue editor Anna Wintour took over as the gala’s chair in 1995.

As punters prepare to dress according to this year’s theme, the work of Karl Lagerfeld, former creative director of Chanel, we bring you a rundown of everything you need to know, and everything you don’t but will find wildly intriguing, about the Met Gala.

Who’s invited - and who’s definitely not

Anna Wintour at the Met Gala in New York on May 2, 2022. Photo / New York Times.

In what’s considered an “intimate” event for the who’s who of the celebrity and fashion set, numbers are set at between 500 and 800 - the latter being the largest guest list the Met Gala has ever seen and deemed too big since.

Vogue’s Sylvana Ward Durrett told US business magazine Fast Company: “We do want the experience to feel intimate for our guests, so in the past few years, we’ve really scaled back and dropped numbers by almost 200 or 300 people.”

In the documentary about the Met Gala, The First Monday in May, Ward Durrett says: “We want to keep this an intimate setting because that’s why people come to this,”

And while there have been rumours that this year invitations will not be extended to the Kardashian-Jenner family, in 2018 Wintour told James Cordon the person she would never invite was former US President Donald Trump.

According to E! News, another face we shouldn’t expect to see climbing the famous steps of the Met is Former Project Runway mentor Tim Gunn.

He said he was blacklisted by Wintour after she took offence to a story he shared about her with The Post.

“All hell broke loose, it was insane. So we have had an open war ever since.”

The ‘No Selfies’ rule

Kylie Jenner took a bathroom selfie with fellow Met Gala attendees in 2017. Photo / Instagram

No one really knows why, but in 2015, Wintour banned selfies at her event. According to E! News a Vogue source told Pret-a-Reporter that a notice went out to all invitees, warning, “The use of phones for photography and social media will not be permitted inside the gala.”

In a scene from The First Monday in May, Wintour is filmed musing over a celebrity’s decision to attend and tells Ward Durrett: “Can he not be on his cellphone the entire time then?”

Ward Durrett told The Post: “Anna is sort of an old-school traditionalist. She likes a dinner party where people are actually speaking to each other. We aren’t sitting over people’s shoulders, but if it’s an obvious thing we might gently remind them.”

Despite the ban, plenty of celebs have broken Wintour’s rule. The likes of Kylie Jenner couldn’t help herself in 2017, sharing that infamous bathroom selfie from inside the event.

What actually goes on inside the event

The parade of fabulously dressed celebrities is broadcast around the world. But beyond that, no one other than those in attendance really know what goes on once inside the event.

But according to E! News, once guests get through the red carpet, they meet and greet Wintour and the show’s hosts, which include Chloe Fineman and Emma Chamberlain this year. From here guests are invited to view The Costume Institute’s exhibition. This year it’s titled: Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty.

Next, it’s on to a carefully curated sit-down meal with a strict seating plan - including husbands and wives reportedly sat separately to encourage outward conversation.

Rihanna at the 2015 Met Gala, in a gown by Chinese designer Guo Pei. Picture / Getty

Beyond the food, for those who can move in their outfits, there’s said to be a chance for dancing and performances from big-name pop stars, often invited to walk the carpet too.

Who picks the outfits

A collector has claimed the iconic Marilyn Monroe dress was damaged after Kim Kardashian wore it to the Met Gala. Photo / Getty Images

While Kim Kardashian seemed to go rogue last year, tracking down Marilyn Monroe’s iconic “Happy Birthday Mr. President” dress and squeezing herself into it, the usual process for choosing a Met Gala look is heavily dependent on a designer’s choice for a star.

According to Andre Leon Talley in The First Monday in May, “Each celebrity has been chosen to wear a gown by a designer. It’s like assignments.”

Former Givenchy creative director Riccardo Tisci, who has dressed both Beyoncé and Madonna, adds, “Each designer brings his own muse. You bring a person that most represents your aesthetic.”

How to watch the event from New Zealand

While the event does run on “the first Monday in May”, that means a Tuesday for Kiwis. The event will be live-streamed by Vogue from 10.30am NZT, with hosts Chloe Fineman, Emma Chamberlain, La La Anthony and Derek Blasberg.

Follow the Herald for updates and in-depth coverage throughout the day.