According to Anna Wintour, these foods are always banned from the Met Gala menu

A solo ticket is $30,000, and a table is $275,000 if you’re fortunate enough to receive an invitation to the biggest fashion event of the year.

Luckily, not everyone needs to pay to attend because Anna Wintour frequently extends invitations to emerging designers to the event. Not only that, but celebrities who are invited expressly to walk the carpet as models for a designer’s creations typically escape financial obligation as well.

There is a waitlist, so even the high price tag isn’t enough to turn away the rest of the fashionable crowd.

Owner of a vintage shop Cameron Silver, who has attended the event multiple times, told Page Six in 2017 that he “knows of society names who couldn’t get a ticket and are prepped to go if there’s a last-minute seat that becomes available.”. Days before the event, they are unsure if they will actually have a seat, but they still have their look ready. ****.

It varies; 500 people are thought to be intimate and small, while 800 people—the highest number of guests the Met Gala has ever hosted—are thought to be excessively large.

Vogue’s Sylvana Ward Durrett told Fast Company in 2017 that “we do want the experience to feel intimate for our guests,” adding, “so in the past few years, we’ve really scaled back and dropped numbers by almost 200 or 300 people.”. “.

Though it has a reputation for being extravagant and glamorous, the organizers truly want the select few who are able to attend to feel special, and Wintour typically starts the list with the intention of keeping it at 500. Ward Durrett is heard stating in The First Monday in May, “We want to keep this an intimate setting because that’s why people come to this.”.

A celebrity’s partner must also receive an invitation of their own; just because they receive an invite does not guarantee that they will receive one for their significant other.

Plans for the event typically begin on the Tuesday following the first Monday in May, so there’s no rest for the stylish. (Just so you know, ten full-time Vogue employees are among the approximately 100 people who work on the event every year. ( ).

When asked about her process, Ward Durrett, who was Vogue’s special projects director at the time, said, “I’m a big fan of a one-sheet.”. We essentially go through our running list of things to do every day, even if it is repetitive. It just grows longer and longer as we get closer. “.”.

The tent was the first item in her list. “Next, you [spell out] every detail related to [that particular aspect]. She finds that by making this list, she can better consider the event—from beginning to end—and ensure that nothing is forgotten. “.

Regarding Wintour’s attention to detail, the late Andre Leon Talley, a contributing editor for Vogue, stated in The First Monday in May that “Anna is painstakingly vetting every single thing, from the napkins to the forks to the lighting.”. Everything has been meticulously inspected for months on end, including the flowers, the ushers, and their attire. “.

Additionally, she likes to keep the specifics of her famous Chanel dress under wraps. Contributing editor Plum Sykes of Vogue told The New York Post, “It’s very secretive.”. Until they step through the door and down the red carpet, [Wintour] doesn’t want anyone to know what she’s up to or what she’s planning. “.”.

You may have a glimmer of an idea of how challenging it is to create the seating chart for the Met Gala if you have ever attempted to arrange seating for a wedding. The team spends a lot of time and effort on this crucial part of the event: placing guests in groups according to interests in common.

“It’s shocking how much thought goes into who sits next to who—if they sat together last year, if they’ve sat next to each other at other events—so much goes into it,” Ward Durrett said in The First Monday in May. Lots of middlemaning. “.”.

Ward Durett told Vogue that she learned early on to invest in Velcro over post-it notes to avoid any errors. Of course, every year the seating arrangements change a lot as the event takes shape. “The seating chart has undergone numerous revisions,” she stated. “When I first started, we just had little stickies, and it was a nightmare—we were losing people, rewriting names a million times a day, and things were falling off.”. “.”.

Ward Durrett likes to follow the woman-man-woman-man pattern whenever possible, so color coding is also used. She also mentioned another important guideline that might surprise you: “Never seat spouses next to each other.”. Meeting new people and demonstrating interest in the activities of others is the main goals of these events. I apologize to Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds, but what good is it to come here and spend time with your husband?

It’s a common occurrence for a nosebleed table to be located next to the kitchen or restroom at any event. Designers’ table placements typically fluctuate annually because the Met Gala is no exception.

Iconic for berating her team for attempting to conceal the HandM table in a scene from The First Monday in May, Wintour is also heavily involved in the process. “It’s not fair to bury this table,” she uttered. “.

Although it’s not an atelier or luxury brand, more approachable brands like Topshop and Zara, as well as H&M, which advertises in Vogue and other magazines, have begun to show up more on the biggest night in fashion. When H&M made its debut in 2015, it won big when Sarah Jessica Parker wore a custom gown.

It’s hard to avoid seeing Hollywood ex-boyfriends and rivals seated next to each other at one of the most A-list events. Considering that, say, Taylor Swift and Katy Perry shouldn’t have been at the same table during the height of their feud, it’s probably taken into account that Selena Gomez and The Weeknd attended with his ex Bella Hadid. However, any potential conflict among the attendees is ultimately superseded by the event as a whole.

You can’t win over everyone. Although there really isn’t a bad [seat] in the house, we always like to pretend that there is. Ward Durrett stated, “You have to leave with the conviction that you are giving it your all and that, inevitably, not everyone will be happy. However, we’ve had some success in the past. In order to manage expectations, we always try to work more closely with them the following year. However, these instances are rare. “.

(At a pivotal moment in the First Monday in May, Ward Durrett told Wintour quite bluntly, “Those are people I am hoping will go away,” after placing three Velcro tabs to the side of her seating chart. (“).

But alas, not everyone is content with the seat they were given, as fashion critic Cathy Horn pointed out in her 2006 article for The New York Times: “When Johnny Rotten, formerly known as John Lydon, found out that his seat was the last at a long table and possibly the least attractive in the extremely planned seating arrangement, he was clearly unhappy.”. Twice he stormed out, cursing the curators of the museum. “.”.

At last, he sat down.

In 2018, Wintour was asked by James Corden during an appearance on The Late Late Show to list any celebrity that she would never again invite to the Met Gala.

Her reply was, “Donald Trump.”. (Then-President Trump and his spouse Melania Trump have climbed those infamous stairs only once, in 2012, but they have attended the Met Gala multiple times over the years. ( ).

Ex-Project Runway mentor Tim Gunn, who said Wintour blacklisted him for sharing an unflattering story about her to The Post, is another celebrity who says they were barred from the Met Gala.

In 2016, he appeared on E!’s Fashion Police and said, “All hell broke loose, it was insane.”. “Therefore, ever since, there has been open warfare. “.

Indeed, dinner is served at the event; Stephen Colbert once disclosed that before anyone could eat, Wintour had to take a seat.

Additionally, Wintour plays a major role in the menu planning process for each gala, just like she does with every other element.

According to a Vogue staffer who spoke with The Post, Wintour had previously outlawed items like parsley that could lodge in teeth, garlic that could give guests bad breath, and fabrics that could, worst of all, discolor a gown. Apéros are therefore designed to be consumed quickly.

Generally speaking, Wintour would rather that the cuisine offered at least partially reflects the theme. However, it’s not always effective.

When lamb potpies were served for the 2011 “Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty” theme, according to Glorious Food owner Sean Driscoll, who catered every Met Gala from 1995 to 2018, “many [guests] did not want to eat that.” This led to “a lot of special requests.”. “.

The First Monday in May director Andrew Rossi acknowledged he was taken aback by the level of attention to detail, particularly after observing Wintour at a tasting: “We see Anna literally pulling up the presentations of different food on her phone.”. “.

Since the decision to forbid social media use and selfies at the glitzy and already FOMO-inducing event has never been officially explained, nobody is exactly sure why the mandate was implemented. However, Wintour created it in that year.

All invitees received a notice at the time informing them that using phones for social media or photography inside the gala would not be allowed, according to a Vogue source who spoke with Pret-a-Reporter. “.

The Hollywood Reporter was informed at the time by a source that “it has to do with guests’ security and enjoyment of the event,” but the magazine chose not to comment on the report. “.

A famous scene from The First Monday in May, in which Wintour learned that a male celebrity—whose name had been blurred, at her request—had changed his mind and agreed to attend the event, epitomized her distaste for phones. She asked Ward Durrett, “Can he not be on his cell phone the entire time then?”.

“Anna is sort of an old-school traditionalist,” Ward Durrett clarified in an interview with The Post. She enjoys dinner parties where guests converse with one another. Although we are not hovering over people, we may politely remind them if it is something that is clear. ****.

Still, picture-obsessed celebrities have disregarded Wintour’s ban numerous times, exemplified by Kylie Jenner’s notorious 2017 affair bathroom selfie.

Though Maddie Ziegler revealed she couldn’t make it because she was only 15, the big event technically requires you to be 18 years of age or older. Organizers confirmed this requirement ahead of the 2018 Met Gala. She told The Hollywood Reporter, “I’m not old enough, so I can’t go.”.

The event’s organizer told THR that the event was “not appropriate for people under 18,” adding that year’s age restriction would take effect.

Before 2018, some of the youngest guests included siblings Jaden and Willow Smith, who were 17 and 15, respectively, Elle Fanning, who made her debut at the event at the age of 13, and Hailee Steinfeld, who was 14 when she attended her first Met Gala in 2011.

There appears to be an exception for the younger generation of Hollywood fashionistas, though: if their parents are present, a minor may accompany them.

Although Wintour has the last say in what each attendee wears, the Vogue EIC does not officially need to approve of their appearances (though she is aware of everything that gets to walk the famous carpet).

“A gown designer has selected each celebrity to wear.”. Each designer brings his own muse, as explained by former Givenchy creative director Riccardo Tisci, who dressed Beyoncé and Madonna for the 2016 Met Gala. Andre Leon Talley said in The First Monday in May, “It’s like assignments.”. You bring the person who best embodies your style. “.”.

This implies that the designer who invited a celebrity to the event gets to choose how they will look for the most part.

Although the gala has a theme every year—”Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion” this year, “Camp: Notes on Fashion” in 2019—guests and designers are free to interpret the theme however they see fit.

But how is the theme really chosen? It’s a drawn-out process that begins well in advance of May 1st, when Andrew Bolton, the devoted longtime curator of The Costume Institute at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, selects a theme that speaks to the times.

“My approach is to work on subjects that are relevant to the times and that characterize a cultural transition that is taking place or soon to take place,” he told Vogue. Our goal is to consistently provide a varied selection of shows that feature both historical and contemporary themes, as well as monographic pieces by individual designers. Our aim is to vary it. “.

He submits it to the museum director for approval after honing in on a specific area of interest, and Wintour gives his approval approximately a year in advance.

According to the renowned British curator, “it would be difficult to do it without her support.”. “Anna determines which sponsors are suitable for the display. There are times when I come up with an idea that’s not so great or well-liked and isn’t very appealing to sponsors. “.”.

Speaking of the well-known performers, the entertainment component of the evening causes a great deal of anxiety when it comes to Met Gala planning.

When it came to securing Rihanna for that year’s gala, Ward Durrett encountered a significant financial challenge, as the infamously detailed in The First Monday in May.

After speaking on the phone with a member of Rihanna’s entourage, she remarked, “It’s about twice as much as any performer we’ve ever had,” regarding the singer’s undisclosed fee. They have no desire for it to drop any lower. ****.

It was eventually necessary for Wintour to intervene and resolve the issue.

In addition to the security personnel the Museum hired for the red carpet, celebrities are permitted to bring their own guards to the event.

In actuality, though, jewels are the items that need the highest level of security. While Karlie Kloss was once decked out in $2.55 million worth of Forevermark jewels for the occasion, Lively wore $3.55 million worth of jewelry one year.

A representative for Forevermark told E! News, “The entire security procedure is kept top secret due to the extremely high value of the pieces involved, but there is always a security guard present until the pieces are safely returned.”. Video monitoring and RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) trackers are examples of additional security measures that are implemented.

Ocean’s 8 thus captured that element of the Met Gala perfectly.