William Simpson
It appears that even the 2024 Met Gala is not immune to inflation. The cost of attending the annual black-tie event, dubbed “fashion’s biggest night,” has risen sharply this year, with the price of an individual ticket rising above the average house down payment.
Officially called The Costume Institute Benefit, the gathering of celebrities from the worlds of entertainment, design, sports and other industries supports the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s fashion-related acquisitions and exhibitions. Participants often wear strange costumes in keeping with the event’s theme.
The co-chairs of this year’s benefit, held on May 6, are Bad Bunny, Chris Hemsworth, Jennifer Lopez, Anna Wintour and Zendaya. It celebrates the opening of the Costume Institute’s spring exhibition, “Sleeping Beauties: Awakening Fashion.” The dress code? “The Garden of Time” according to for Met.
The exhibition description provides some clues about how to translate this into fashion. Tip: choose pigsties that evoke nature. It features 250 garments spanning four centuries, which are “visually united by nature-related iconography, which will serve as a metaphor for the fragility and ephemerality of fashion and a vehicle for examining the cyclical themes of rebirth and renewal,” notes the Met .
But since the gala is a fundraiser, the ticket price isn’t cheap, even if you’re on the exclusive guest list.
How much do Met Gala tickets cost?
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For invited individuals, the cost of entry to this year’s gala is $75,000, the Met told CBS MoneyWatch. That’s a 50% increase from last year’s $50,000 price tag.
A table for 10 people starts at $350,000, according to The Met.
How much do celebrities have to pay to attend the Met Gala?
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Well, first they need to be invited. Not just anyone can buy a ticket or table for the event.
However, many celebrities do not pay the full shipping fee. Instead, a design house typically approaches a table and invites the guests it wants to entertain, an attendee confirmed to CBS MoneyWatch. Therefore, for some particularly brilliant guests, participation is free.
Where do Met Gala ticket profits go?
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Anna Wintour, chief content officer at Condé Nast, global editorial director at Vogue and curator at the Met since 1999, controls the event’s guest list. To date, under her leadership, the event has raised more than $223.5 million for The Costume Institute, according to The Met.
Last year’s Met Gala raised nearly $22 million. Around 400 guests attended, according to the Associated Press.
