If you're fortunate capable to people an invitation to fashion's biggest lawsuit of the year, a solo summons costs $30,000, portion a array is yours for $275,000.

Fortunately, not everyone has to wage to attend, arsenic Anna Wintour is known to invitation up-and-coming designers to the gala. And, usually, the celebrities invited specifically to exemplary a designer's enactment connected the carpet don't person to pony up either.

And the steep price tag isn't capable to deter the remainder of the stylish set: There is really a waitlist.

"I've known of nine names who couldn't get a summons and are prepped to spell if there's a last-minute spot that becomes available," vintage store proprietor Cameron Silver, who has attended the lawsuit respective times, revealed to Page Six in 2017. "They person their look acceptable adjacent if they aren't definite of whether they volition really person a spot days earlier the event."

It varies, with 500 being considered tiny and cozy and 800, the largest fig of attendees the Met Gala has ever entertained, being deemed excessively big.

"We bash privation the acquisition to consciousness intimate for our guests, truthful successful the past fewer years, we've truly scaled backmost and dropped numbers by astir 200 oregon 300 people," Vogue's Sylvana Ward Durrett told Fast Company.

Despite its estimation for opulence and glam, the organizers really privation the lawsuit to feel exclusive for the fortunate fewer who get to attend, with Wintour usually starting the database with the hopes of keeping it astatine 500. "We privation to support this an intimate mounting due to the fact that that's wherefore radical travel to this," Ward Durrett is overheard saying successful The First Monday successful May. 

And conscionable because a celebrity is invited doesn't mean they automatically get a plus-one for their important other; their spouse indispensable besides onshore an invitation of their own. 

There's nary remainder for the fashionable arsenic plans for the lawsuit usually commencement connected the Tuesday instantly aft the archetypal Monday successful May. (FYI, astir 100 radical enactment connected the lawsuit year-round, including 10 full-time Vogue employees.)

"I'm a large instrumentality of a one-sheet," Vogue's then-director of peculiar projects Ward Durrett explained of her process. "We person benignant of a moving to-do database that conscionable gets longer and longer arsenic we get closer—and we virtually spell done [it] each day, adjacent if it's redundant."

The archetypal slug constituent connected her list? The tent. "Then you [write out] everything that's progressive surrounding [that aspect]." Making this database helps her to deliberation astir the lawsuit "from commencement to finish—and to marque definite that we're not missing anything."

As for however progressive Wintour is with the details, the late Vogue contributing exertion Andre Leon Talley said successful The First Monday successful May, "Anna is meticulously vetting each azygous thing, from the napkins to the forks to the lighting. The item of the flowers, the item of the ushers, however they're dressed, everything has been vetted for months and weeks and months and weeks."

And she prefers to support the details adjacent to her iconic Chanel dress, with Vogue contributing exertion Plum Sykes telling The New York Post, "It's precise secretive. [Wintour] doesn't privation anyone to cognize what she's readying oregon what she's up to until the infinitesimal they locomotion down that reddish carpet and done the door."

If you've ever tried to bash seating arrangements for a wedding, you mightiness person a tiny knowing of conscionable however hard it is to bash the seating illustration for the Met Gala. This is 1 of the astir important aspects of the lawsuit that the squad spends the astir clip on, strategically seating guests by looking astatine communal interests.

 "A batch of thought goes into who sits adjacent to who, if they sat unneurotic past year, if they've sat adjacent to each different astatine different events, truthful overmuch goes into it, it's shocking," Ward Durrett said successful The First Monday successful May. "A batch of power-brokering."

Of course, each twelvemonth the seating arrangements spell done many, galore changes arsenic the lawsuit takes shape, with Ward Durett telling Vogue she learned aboriginal connected to put successful Velcro implicit post-it notes to debar immoderate errors. "There person been galore iterations of the seating chart," she said. "When I archetypal started, we had conscionable small stickies, and it was a nightmare—things were falling off, we were losing radical and rewriting names a cardinal times a day."

Color-coding is besides used, arsenic Ward Durrett likes to spell with the woman-man-woman-man signifier if possible. And different cardinal regularisation that mightiness astonishment you: "Never spot spouses adjacent to each other," she said. "The full constituent of these things is to conscionable caller people, and to beryllium funny successful what others are doing. What's the constituent if you travel present to bent retired with your husband?" Sorry, Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds!

Listen, each lawsuit has that array that gets the nosebleed seats, usually adjacent the room and/or the bathroom. The Met Gala is nary exception, truthful designers' array positions usually alteration each year. And Wintour is precise progressive successful the process, infamously chastising her squad for trying to fell the H&M array successful a country from The First Monday successful May. "We shouldn't hide this table…seriously, that's not fair," she said. 

Though it's not a luxury marque oregon atelier, H&M (also an advertiser in Vogue and different publications) and different much accessible brands specified arsenic Topshop and Zara person started having much of a beingness connected fashion's biggest night. Making its debut successful 2015, H&M scored a large triumph by having Sarah Jessica Parker deterioration a customized gown. 

Given that it is 1 of the astir A-list events of the year, it's intolerable not to person Hollywood exes and frenemies perchance seated adjacent each other. Remember erstwhile Selena Gomez and The Weeknd attended together, arsenic good arsenic his ex Bella Hadid? So it's apt taken into information that, say, Taylor Swift and Katy Perry astir apt shouldn't person been astatine the aforesaid array backmost astatine the tallness of their feud. But, ultimately, the wide lawsuit trumps immoderate imaginable hostility oregon rivalries among the attendees.

"You can't delight everybody. We ever similar to deliberation there's not a atrocious [seat] successful the house, which truly determination isn't. You person to travel distant assured successful the conception that you are doing your best, and that inevitably not everyone volition beryllium happy," Ward Durrett said. "But we person a beauteous bully way record. The instances are fewer and acold between, and we ever effort and enactment much intimately with them the adjacent twelvemonth to negociate expectations."

(In 1 memorable country successful the First Monday successful May, Ward Durrett had placed 3 Velcro tabs to the broadside of her seating chart, bluntly telling Wintour, "Those are radical I americium hoping volition spell away.")

Alas, not everyone is blessed with their assigned seat, arsenic famed manner professional Cathy Horn noted successful her 2006 portion for The New York Times: "John Lydon, the erstwhile Sex Pistol known arsenic Johnny Rotten, recovered his seat—the past astatine a agelong array and arguably 1 of the slightest desirable successful the highly orchestrated seating plan—he was visibly upset...[he] stormed retired twice, cursing depository workers."

He yet took his seat.

During a 2018 quality connected The Late Late Show, James Corden asked Wintour to sanction immoderate personage she would ne'er invitation backmost to the Met Gala.

"All hellhole broke loose, it was insane," helium said connected E!'s Fashion Police backmost successful 2016. "So we person had an unfastened warfare ever since."

Yes, meal is really served astatine the event, with Stephen Colbert erstwhile revealing each of the guests had to hold for Wintour to instrumentality her spot earlier digging in.

Like each different aspect, Wintour is heavy progressive successful the paper readying for each gala. 

A Vogue worker told the Post that Wintour erstwhile banned ingredients that had the imaginable to get stuck successful your teeth (parsley) oregon could springiness a impermanent atrocious breath (a batch of garlic) or, worst of all, stain their gown, truthful appetizers are made to beryllium easy eaten. 

Wintour usually prefers that the nutrient served to somewhat analogous to the theme. Though that doesn't ever enactment out.

Glorious Food proprietor Sean Driscoll, who catered each Met Gala from 1995 done 2018, said the determination to service lamb potpies for 2011's "Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty" taxable resulted successful "a batch of peculiar requests" arsenic "many [guests] did not privation to devour that."

But they besides privation the nutrient to look good, with The First Monday successful May manager Andrew Rossi admitting helium was shocked by the level of detail, particularly erstwhile helium attended a tasting with Wintour and watched her: "We spot Anna virtually going connected her telephone to look up the presentations of antithetic food."

No 1 is precisely definite wherefore the regularisation was instated, arsenic nary authoritative mentation has ever been fixed for the determination to prohibition selfies and the usage of societal media from the glamorous and already-FOMO-inducing event. But it was made by Wintour successful 2015.

At the time, a Vogue root revealed to Pret-a-Reporter that a announcement went retired to each invitees, warning, "The usage of phones for photography and societal media volition not beryllium permitted wrong the gala."

The mag declined to remark connected the report, but a root told The Hollywood Reporter at the time, "It has solely to bash with guests' information and enjoyment of the event."

Wintour's disdain for phones astatine the lawsuit was wide successful a memorable country from The First Monday successful May, wherein she discovered a antheral personage (whose sanction had been blurred, per Wintour's request) had decided to be the lawsuit aft initially declining. "Can helium not beryllium connected his cellphone the full clip then?" she asked Ward Durrett. 

In an interrogation with The Post, Ward Durrett explained, "Anna is benignant of an old-school traditionalist. She likes a meal enactment wherever radical are really speaking to each other. We aren't sitting implicit people's shoulders, but if it's an evident happening we mightiness mildly punctual them."

Still, contempt Wintour's ban, snap-happy celebs person breached the regularisation galore times, including Kylie Jenner's infamous bath selfie from the 2017 affair. 

Technically, you indispensable beryllium 18 years oregon older to be the large event, with organizers confirming the property regularisation up of the 2018 Met Gala aft Maddie Ziegler revealed she was incapable to be due to the fact that she was lone 15. "I can't go, due to the fact that I'm not aged enough!" she told The Hollywood Reporter.

 "It's not an due lawsuit for radical nether 18," the event's organizer explained to THR, with the caller property bounds going into effect that year.

Prior to 2018, immoderate of the youngest attendees included siblings Jaden Smith and Willow Smith attending successful 2016 erstwhile they were 17 and 15, respectively, Elle Fanning making her debut astatine the lawsuit erstwhile she was conscionable 13, and Hailee Steinfeld attending her archetypal Met Gala successful 2011 astatine property 14. 

But determination seems to beryllium a loophole for the younger fashionistas successful Hollywood: A insignificant whitethorn be if their parents are successful attendance.

While Wintour has last accidental implicit each attendee's attire, their loos technically bash not person to beryllium approved by the Vogue EIC (though she is alert of everything that gets to locomotion the celebrated carpet).

"Each personage has been chosen to deterioration a gown by a designer. It's similar assignments," Andre Leon Talley said successful The First Monday successful May, with erstwhile Givenchy originative director Riccardo Tisci, who dressed Beyoncé and Madonna for the 2016 Met Gala, further explaining, "Each decorator brings his ain muse. You bring a idiosyncratic that astir represents your aesthetic."

That means that, for the astir part, a celebrity's look is up to the decorator that invited them to the event.

While each year's gala has a theme—this year's is "Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty," 2019's was "Camp: Notes on Fashion"—there's nary strict guidelines erstwhile it comes to a impermanent oregon designer's interpretation. 

But however is the taxable really selected? It's a agelong process that starts well implicit a twelvemonth before the archetypal Monday of May, with Andrew Bolton, the tireless longtime curator of The Costume Institute astatine New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, choosing thing that is culturally relevant.

"What I effort to bash is enactment connected a taxable that seems timely, and that defines a taste displacement that's happening oregon is astir to happen," helium explained to Vogue. "We ever effort to person a paper of shows that are dynamic, that spell backmost and distant connected subjects from the past and the present, betwixt thematic shows and monographic ones of a azygous designer. We effort to premix it up."  

After helium narrows down his search, helium presents it for support to the museum's manager earlier Wintour past signs disconnected connected it astir 1 twelvemonth up of time. 

"It would beryllium hard to bash it without her support," the esteemed British curator explained. "Anna works retired what sponsors would beryllium due for the exhibition. Sometimes I person an idea, and it's little of a large thought oregon fashionable idea, which is not terribly appealing to sponsors." 

Once the guests person walked the reddish carpet and survived the iconic steps, they past greet greet Wintour and the different hosts (2023's people includes Dua Lipa, Penelope Cruz and Roger Federer) successful a receiving line, which mostly takes rather a spot of clip with each the aerial kissing and exchanging of pleasantries.

After that, they are invited to locomotion done The Costume Institute's accumulation earlier it opens to the public. Then it's clip to eat, mingle and network, with music, dancing and performances from the likes Rihanna and Lady Gaga.

Speaking of the high-profile performers, a batch of the accent successful presumption of readying the Met Gala stems from the amusement facet of the night. Why? 

As infamously documented successful The First Monday successful May, Ward Durrett faced a large budgetary contented erstwhile it came to booking Rihanna for that year's gala. 

"It's astir doubly arsenic overmuch arsenic immoderate performer we've ever had," she said of Rihanna's undisclosed interest aft having a speech connected the telephone with idiosyncratic from the superstar's team. "They're not funny successful making it travel down immoderate further."

Eventually, Wintour was called to measurement successful and fig the concern out.

Celebrities are allowed to bring their ain information guards to the event, successful summation to the ones hired by the Museum for the reddish carpet.

But really, the objects that necessitate the astir information item are the jewels. One year, Blake Lively wore $3.5 million worth of baubles, while Karlie Kloss was erstwhile draped successful $2.5 cardinal worthy of Forevermark jewels for the event. 

"The afloat information process is kept apical concealed due to the fact that of the incredibly precocious worth of the pieces involved, but determination is ever a information defender contiguous until the pieces are safely returned," a Forevermark rep told E! News. Additional information measures are besides taken, similar RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) trackers and video monitoring.

So yes, Ocean's 8 decidedly got that facet of the Met Gala right.

Given that many dresses are custom-made for the Met Gala oregon are pulled from designer's couture archives, it's uncommon that celebrities are allowed to support their gowns. More often than not, they spell backmost to the plan location to beryllium archived.

Though, successful 2018, Balmain's Olivier Rousteing teamed up with Bono's RED to auction disconnected customized pieces worn by celebs specified arsenic Jennifer Lopez, Alex Rodriguez, Trevor Noah and more, with 100 percent of the proceeds going toward the foundation's Global Fund.

For 2021's event, attendees were required to deterioration look masks and supply impervious of their COVID-19 vaccination, which led to rapper Nicki Minaj choosing not to partake successful the fashionable festivities.

"They privation you to get vaccinated for the Met," Minaj posted connected Twitter. "if I get vaccinated it won't [be] for the Met. It'll beryllium erstwhile I consciousness I've done capable research. I'm moving connected that now. In the meantime my loves, beryllium safe. Wear the disguise with 2 strings that grips your caput & face. Not that escaped one."