Met Gala’s theme this year is ‘Sleeping Beauties’: How is it picked?

Fashion’s biggest night — the Met Gala — is just around the corner. Celebrities and their team of stylists are prepping for their big moment on 6 May to walk up those famous stairs at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

For many, it’s a night of stars — the day when A-listers, dressed in their best, and sometimes wackiest, will adorn the red carpet — and when everyone embraces their inner fashion critic.

But have you ever wondered how the theme of the Met Gala — this year, it’s ‘Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion’ — is decided?

And if you want to sound like a fashion commentator par excellence, we present you to the style guide to the Met Gala — from theme, to guests and much, much more.

What is the Met Gala?

Before we dive into the matter of guests and themes, let’s understand what is this night all about. It’s an extravagant night of high fashion and glamour, and even the wackiest fashion (one time, Katy Perry dressed as a cheeseburger while Jared Leto dressed as a cat). And all of this is done as a fundraiser to support the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The Met Gala began in 1948 as a midnight dinner that cost $50 (Rs 4,171) to attend and was the brainchild of fashion publicist Eleanor Lambert, who played a key role in launching New York Fashion Week. However, there were no themes then.

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It was only in the 1970s when Vogue editor-in-chief Diana Vreeland became a special consultant to the Costume Institute that the night carried a specific theme. In fact, the first themed Met Gala was the 1973 Cristóbal Balenciaga retrospective a year after his death.

Slowly and stylishly, the Met Gala became an important date in the fashion calendar and when the now famous and popular Vogue editor Anna Wintour took over in 1995, it grew in size and began to include appearances from top names in film, sports, business, and music. As Wintour biographer Amy Odell wrote for TIME in 2022, the party is not only a celebration of the Costume Institute, but also a celebration of Wintour’s dominance of the industry.

The Met Gala has, in fact, become one of the biggest and most exclusive nights of fashion in the year. Celebrities are invited for the event and are expected to follow the theme and dress code that is set for the night. And it’s not cheap; one ticket for the night costs approximately $50,000 (Rs 41.71 lakh)

So, how is this theme selected?

Many believe that the theme of the Met Gala is finalised by Anna Wintour. But that’s not entirely correct. The entire concept, curation and execution of it all is done by the Costume Institute’s chief curator, Andrew Bolton.

And thinking of the theme is a long, arduous process that begins way before the actual event. According to Vogue, when Bolton and his team are happy with a theme, they present it to the museum’s director and president for approval. It is said that the approval process happens about a year in advance, while the hands-on curation of the show begins as soon as the spring show opens.

Once the museum gives its blessing to the theme, it awaits its approval from Wintour. Bolton has been quoted as telling Vogue, “It would be difficult to do it without her support. Anna works out what sponsors would be appropriate for the exhibition. Anna is extraordinary and supports us in so many ways, but in particular by going out for sponsorship.”

While a theme may be selected in advance, changes can happen. For instance, the Met Gala theme for 2017 was initially Heavenly Bodies. However, when Comme des Garçons’s Rei Kawakubo agreed to a career review, Bolton couldn’t pass it up. And hence, the theme of ‘Heavenly Bodies’ was pushed to the next year, 2018.

What’s this year’s theme?

The exhibition’s theme for this year is titled “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion.” And no, it’s not about Disney princesses or about fairy tales. It’s all about fashion’s treasures — some 250 garments that are so old, some even 400 years old. The fashion on display will include designs by Schiaparelli, Dior, Givenchy, and more. Some garments that are too fragile to ever be worn again — such as a Charles Frederick Worth ball gown from 1877 — will also be displayed via video animation, light projection, AI, CGI, and other forms of sensory stimulation.

In fact, as CNN reports some of the garments, which are too fragile to be dressed on mannequins will be displayed instead as the titular “sleeping beauties,” appearing in coffin-like glass displays with microscopes available to observe their deterioration up close, according to the Institute.

But that’s what one will see at the exhibit. What about the dress code that A-listers will follow for the night? The Met has decided that the dress code for the evening is “The Garden of Time,” inspired by a short story written by JG Ballard in 1962, which chronicles the tale of a count and countess living in a blissful villa: “But with each passing hour, an angry mob slowly begins to encroach their home, with the only way to fend them off involving the count plucking the petals of a time-reversing flower.”

However, how will this essay be interpreted in fashion? Kat Thomas, a fashion editor at Condé Nast, thinks guests might take the dress code literally, hypothesising that someone could arrive covered in moss.

Ana Escalante, an associate editor at Who What Wear, also believes that celebrities will lean towards foliage for their choices. She was quoted as telling The Cut, “What jumps out to me is that celebrities and stylists are going to rely heavily on the garden aspect of the theme. I can see things like flowers, greenery, moss, very literal stuff,” she said. “This idea of a garden and being whimsical in your fashion choices can be fun. A lot of the funniest flops tend to be way too on the nose.”

Other fashion commentators believe that stylists could use the time aspect and use archival fashions to convey the theme.

Who will be attending the Met Gala 2024?

Approximately 450 guests will attend the ‘Oscars of Fashion’ but their names won’t be known until they walk down the red carpet on the day of the event. However, reports state Uma Thurman, Sarah Paulson, and Cara Delevingne are expected to attend. Also on the list is Kendall Jenner, Rihanna, Lily Gladstone, and Irish icons Ayo Edebiri and Barry Keoghan.

Meanwhile, Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez, Chris Hemsworth, and Bad Bunny will share the responsibility of co-chair alongside Anna Wintour. Johnathan Anderson of Loewe and Shou Chew, the chief executive of TikTok, will be honorary chairs.

So, go on and get ready for the fashion, glamour and glitz on 6 May.

With inputs from agencies