‘The Superbowl of fashion events’ is what the late André Leon Talley, named the glamorous ‘Met Gala’ and rightfully so as it is the event of the year garnering the attention of fashion enthusiasts all over the world.
This luxurious gathering started off as a simple fundraiser. In 1946, the Metropolitan Museum of Art acquired 8,000 costumes and established the Costume Institute. Miss Eleanor Lambert, who had invented the concept of the best dressed back then, decided to host the self-titled ‘party of the year’ to attract funds for the Costume Institute and Exhibition. And thus, came into existence the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Benefit, better known as the Met Gala. The first Met Gala was held at the Waldorf Astoria with an entry fee of just $50.
Eventually this December supper turned into the talk of the town every May showering bills everywhere. The price first became $100 per ticket (about $830 today). It was sold out just two weeks prior to the main day and an orchestra complimenting the event on D-day.
Met Gala: Historical Significance
In the 1970s, Vogue’s Diana Vreeland took over the gala and brought a new shine to it. “Our student tickets allowed us to arrive at the museum while dinner was underway, and we would all gather for drinks in the Great Hall, just like the swells earlier,” fashion student of the 70s, now designer and author Steven Stolman wrote in an op-ed called ‘The Met Ball was so much better in the old days’.
In 1995, Anna Wintour grasped the Met Gala by its reins and made it into the showstopper it is. The stars aligned and alighted her tenure as the $1,000 tickets sold out before the invitations had even been printed.
Significance Today
Now the price per ticket stands at a whopping $75,000 having risen over the years. It was $50,000 last year and in fact in 2015 it was one third of the current price! But most of the stars that we fawn over do not have to buy their own tickets.
The designers buy tables of 10 and sit their models there flaunting their beautiful designs. The main purpose of this is the exposure their brand gets from the plethora of media coverage of the Met Gala. This year the price of one table was about $350,000 but comparing it with the advertising, the designers find it a sweet deal due to the Media Impact Value.
Last year, the Met Gala generated $1 billion in Media Impact Value. This year India’s very own Alia Bhatt emerged as the most visible person at the gala. Her Sabyasachi get-up is speculated to have generated a staggering $4.2 million in Earned Media Value. Reportedly, the 2024 Met Gala has broken all records by generating $995 million in just over 48 hours.
The cash also flows in from the sponsors of the gala. This year the social media giant TikTok sat at the throne of sponsors. They had Condé Nast and luxury fashion brand Loewe. Though they kept shut about the amounts, which is similar to the behavior of past sponsors Apple and Instagram.
Coming back to the purpose of this grand celebration of fashion, this year’s event raised about $26 million. It was for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute, according to a spokeswoman. It is more than two times the amount raised a decade ago. Wintour has come a long way and established herself as the bedrock of celebrity fashion. She has raised over $223.5 million as the chair over the years. The blooming extravaganza and shimmer of the gala promise money all the more.