10 Things You Never Knew About the Met Gala
Photo: Film Magic1/12Think you know everything about the annual Met Gala? Think again.
You may scroll Instagram the night of and religiously refresh Twitter for funny gifs and outfit credits, but there’s a lot more to the evening than pretty dresses and iconic group selfies.
Ahead, 10 things you didn’t know about the biggest fashion event of the year.
Photo: Getty Images2/12The Met Gala is almost 70 years old.
The event has been happening in some capacity since 1948, and only gets bigger every year. Each year, co-chairs and honorary event chairs are selected. Taylor Swift, Idris Elba, Anna Wintour and Apple's Chief Design Officer Jonathan Ive will co-chair this year's gala, while Nicolas Ghesquière, Karl Lagerfeld and Miuccia Prada will serve as honorary event chairs.
Photo: Getty Images3/12It celebrates the opening of The Costume Institute’s spring exhibition.
The Costume Institute contains more than 35,000 pieces of clothing and accessories made in five continents over seven centuries. Each exhibition has a theme which inspires each gala’s dress code. Past themes have covered everything from dance to punk to royal families. Last year's theme was "China: Through The Looking Glass."
Photo: Getty Images4/12And raises money for it, too.
According to The New York Times, the Gala has raised over $145 million for The Costume Institute since 1995. Not bad, huh?
Photo: Getty Images5/12Celebrities and designers are paired up.
Past pairs include Selena Gomez and Vera Wang, Blake Lively and Karl Lagerfeld, Cara Delevingne and Stella McCartney, and more. Marchesa is supposedly designing a special dress with IBM’s Watson cognitive system for a secret guest. That’s one dress you definitely won’t want to miss.
Photo: Getty Images6/12This year’s theme is “Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology."
Featuring over 100 pieces, the show will include both handmade haute couture and machine-made ready-to wear, and techniques like laser cutting and thermo shaping. We honestly can’t wait to see what our favorite style stars do with this theme…
Photo: Getty Images7/12Stars look to past galas for style inspo.
Kim Kardashian turned heads in 2015 in a barely-there see-through dress by Roberto Cavalli, but she wasn’t the first to wear a feathered gown to the gala. Later that night, Kim shared a photo of Cher in a similar Bob Mackie dress on Instagram, writing: “Tonight’s inspiration! Cher at the 1st ever Met Gala!” Though it wasn’t technically the first Met Gala, it was Cher’s first time there in 1974.
Photo: Instagram @JustinBieber8/12The seating chart is everything.
If you saw The First Monday in May, you’ll remember the scene involving the color-coded chart. “We’re very thoughtful about where we put people,” Vogue Director of Special Projects Sylvana Ward Durrett told Vogue.com. “There’s a lot of networking that goes on, and you hear all these stories that come out of the Met, like so-and-so is now doing a fragrance with Marc Jacobs because they met at the [event].”
Photo: Getty Images9/12Anna Wintour has been the co-chair since 1995.
Vogue editor in chief Anna Wintour has been in charge of the big event for 21 years (excluding 1996 and 1998). She’s been in good company with past co-chairs including everyone from major celebs like Beyoncé and Jennifer Lawrence to designers like Marc Jacobs and Karl Lagerfeld. Looks like this year’s co-chair (and current Vogue cover girl) Taylor Swift has some big (and stylish!) shoes to fill.
Photo: Getty Images10/12The interiors are just as intricate as the gowns.
Past interiors have included zebra print chairs, super hero statues, and mirrored chandeliers. A vase made of roses for last year’s event weighed 12,500 pounds — really!
Photo: Instagram @KendallJenner11/12The entire evening is one big photo opp.
The cameras don’t stop — even after the stars step off the red carpet and into the party. Kendall Jenner even posted a selfie from a mini party in the bathroom last year. Say cheese!
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