Every first Monday of May, the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York city transform into fashion’s most extravagant — sometimes eyebrow-raising — runway.
Officially known as the Costume Institute Benefit, the Met Gala isn’t just a parade of jaw-dropping outfits — it raises funds for the institute, which is the museum’s only curatorial department that must fund itself. The gala coincides with the opening of the institute’s annual fashion exhibition.
What began in 1948 as a modest midnight supper for New York’s elite, “fashion’s biggest night out,” has since evolved into a highly anticipated annual event with US Vogue’s Anna Wintour at its helm since 1995. And Met Gala tickets — which are invite-only with Ms Wintour approving the guest list — cost a pretty penny.
Time magazine recently reported that stars forked out $75,000 (€66,000) apiece for last year’s do; a far cry from the $50 per head in 1948.
2025’s theme: Dandyism redefined
Each year, the Met Gala theme sets the tone for both the exhibition and the sartorial choices of its celebrity guests. This year’s, chosen by Andrew Bolton, chief curator of the Costume Institute, is “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style.”
Inspired by Monica L. Miller’s 2009 book “Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity,” the exhibition explores how tailoring has shaped Black identities.
Miller, a professor of Africana studies at Barnard College, also guest-curated the show.
“Dandyism can seem frivolous, but it often poses a challenge to or a transcendence of social and cultural hierarchies,” Miller said in a press release. “It asks questions about identity, representation, and mobility in relation to race, class, gender, sexuality, and power. The exhibition explores this concept as both a pronouncement and a provocation.”
This year is the second time menswear is in the spotlight, since 2003’s “Bravehearts: Men in Skirts.”
A different team co-chairs the event with Anna Wintour each year: This time, it includes actor and Oscar nominee Colman Domingo, Formula 1 racer Lewis Hamilton, rapper A$AP Rocky, and singer and Louis Vuitton Men’s Creative Director Pharrell Williams, while the host committee includes singer Janelle Monae and acclaimed author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
A (cat)walk down memory lane
Over the years, Met Gala guests have pushed the fashion envelope with the various themes, elevating jaw-dropping fashion into an art form and creating waves on social media. Below is but a selection of standout sartorial turns on the red carpet.
Rihanna: Pop(e)star
When singer Rihanna arrived at the 2018 Met Gala, she turned the theme “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination” literally on her head. Her custom Maison Margiela ensemble by John Galliano, comprised of an ornate, heavily embellished gown that took 250 hours to sew and 500 hours to hand-embroider, which she topped off with a dazzling jeweled miter — a liturgical headdress worn by Roman Catholic bishops.
Katy Perry: Channeling chandeliers and cheeseburgers
At the 2019 “Camp: Notes on Fashion” gala, singer Katy Perry came dressed as a life-sized chandelier designed by Moschino’s Jeremy Scott, complete with working lightbulbs. She changed into a cheeseburger costume for the after-party. Scott told Vogue then that he had the idea to create something that was “rich and austere, like a fancy old-money mansion,” adding that the chandelier “would be the perfect thing for Katy that no one else would wear.”
Jared Leto: His own plus-one
At the same 2019 gala, actor Jared Leto won hands down for the wildest accessory: a severed replica of his own head. Dressed in a crimson high-collared Gucci gown dripping with jewels, Leto brought a side of surrealism to the runway.
Kim Kardashian: Dripping in drama
For the 2022 theme “In America: An Anthology of Fashion,” Kim Kardashian wowed with pop culture legend: she donned the iconic 1962 Jean Louis gown worn by Marilyn Monroe while crooning “Happy Birthday, Mr. President” to John F. Kennedy. To fit into the skin-tight, crystal-encrusted dress, Kardashian lost about seven kilos (16 pounds) in three weeks. She not only turned heads but sparked debates about fashion, body image and the preservation of historical garments.
Doja Cat: The purr-fect transfor-meow-tion (all puns intended!)
In 2023, rapper Doja Cat dialed up the drama at the gala themed, “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty,” by showing up as an actual cat, paying homage to Lagerfeld’s beloved feline, Choupette. Decked out in Oscar de la Renta and complete with prosthetics that sharpened her features to feline perfection, Doja didn’t just wear a look — she imbibed it, answering every red carpet question with a series of meows.
King Khan’s Met debut?
Typically, the Met Gala guest list is kept under wraps right until the day of the event.
But Indian media outlets such as the English-language daily Hindustan Times and social media have recently been abuzz with speculation that Bollywood legend, Shah Rukh Khan, may make his Met Gala debut this year, in an ensemble by renowned Indian couturier, Sabyasachi Mukherjee.
The frenzy first stemmed from a post by widely followed fashion and pop culture-based account Diet Sabya that read: “National headlines. Threads in meltdown. Entertainment sites foaming at the mouth. Twitter frenzy et al. Time to shut it down lol. We at DietSabya can confirm: yes, that is indeed SRK — India’s undisputed generational superstar — making his Met Gala debut in May 2025, wearing Sabyasachi (India’s biggest luxury brand).”
Given his global fan base — including in Germany — King Khan walking the red carpet would be a typical internet-breaking event that the Met Gala has long been associated with. And it would make him the first Indian male actor to attend the gala.
For now though, we can only wait, and watch.
Edited by: Elizabeth Grenier
