The fashion isn’t the only shocking thing about the annual Met Gala.
The Met Gala 2025 rolls out the red carpet with the theme “Tailored for You,” in connection with the Costume’s Institute’s landmark new exhibition, “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style.”
And we’re all waiting to see who wears what when the stars start turning up to climb those famous steps. But once they get to the top, they need to toe the line on some things if they hope to be invited back next year.
Rule Number One: You Gotta Pay to Play
An invitation is not enough to get you into the Met Gala, though certainly no one is getting in without one!
While the guest list is keep largely confidential until the high heels start stepping out of those limos, every person who climbs those famous steps has to pay for their ticket. Or get someone else to.
And that ticket isn’t cheap. The gala is, after all, a fundraiser for the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Earnings go toward maintaining the museum’s extensive fashion collection that includes some items that are 700 years old!
Last year, an individual ticket rang up at $75,000 and a table was $350,000 according to CBS News.
You Need to Dress the Part
Each year’s gala has a theme.
This year, it’s “Tailored for You,” meant to refect the Costume’s Institute’s new exhibition, “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style.”
Attendees are expected to reflect that theme in their outfit choice. So you can expect to see a lot of menswear-inspired fashion.. and who knows what else?
Not everyone who shows up strictly adheres to the theme, but it’s, let’s say, frowned upon to ignore it.
The Met Gala is a No Phone Zone
Cell phones are a hard no from Met Gala organizer, Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour.
So selfies will not be showing up on Kim Kardashian‘s Instagram account tomorrow- at least not from inside the event.
Social Media Oversharing is So Out of Style
In fact, posting on social media from inside the event is just not okay, though it seems what happens in the bathroom is a different matter (I’m looking at you Billie Eilish.)
The general rule of thumb is that what happens at the Met Gala stays at the Met Gala, and guests are discouraged from sharing too many details about the ultra-exclusive evening.
With next year’s guest list on the table, most stars aren’t willing to risk being excluded from the event just for an overshare.
But Vogue did give us a little insight into the order of events, writing, “But the run-of-show involves cocktails, dinner … and a high-profile performer (or two). Attendees also always have a moment to explore the exhibition.”
There’s No Smoking at the Met Gala
There’s no smoking at the Met Gala, but that’s not a rule set by Anna Wintour and her staff.
That one comes straight from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which outlines its no smoking policy on the museum’s website.
“Smoking, including electronic cigarettes, is prohibited in the Museum or near the entrances,” the visitor guidelines read.
With all the priceless art inside, can you blame them?
Assigned Seats are Non-Negotiable
Table hopping just isn’t DONE at the Met Gala.
Guests are expected to, and in fact required to sit in their assigned seats.
According to Vogue, the task of making seating charts falls to expert party planner Eaddy Kiernan.
“We start with a seating document when the names come together in December,” Kiernan told Vogue. And while that chart is fluid until about a month before the big event, Kiernan says the early planning gives them “a sense for the layout of the room and the flow of the evening.”
Kiernan’s goal is designing a fun evening, seating stars together who she thinks “will get on like a house on fire,” pondering what various guests will “talk about” if they are next to each other. And there are more sensitive considerations as well. “We try to make sure someone isn’t staring into the eyes of a former flame,” she elaborates.
No Kids Allowed
To attend the Met Gala, you have to be at least 18-years-old.
So while Blue Ivy may have been on stage when mom Beyonce’ accepted her historic Grammy, she won’t be mom’s “plus one” if she attends the Met Gala.
Why no kids? Simple. Organizers say “it’s not an appropriate event for people under 18.”
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The Met Gala’s Seven Firm Rules