Despite the lofty net-worths of those in attendance, and the tens of thousands of dollars that sometimes go into a single red carpet look, even the famed and fabulous Met Gala has been hit by the soaring cost of inflation.
This year, a single ticket to the Vogue x Metropolitan Museum of Art event, will cost $75,000. A figure up 50 percent from last year's still astronomical $50,000 per ticket price.
According to the Met, pricing for a 10-person table starts at $350,000.
One hotly-debated question each time the first Monday in May rolls around is: who ultimately foots the bill for the celebrities who populate the carpet?
The process begins with obtaining an invite - of course, not just anyone can purchase a ticket, even those willing to fork over handfuls of cash.
Andrew Bolton, Anna Wintour and Jonathan Anderson attend the press conference for the 2024 Met Gala celebrating "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion" at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 06, 2024 in New York City
Often, design houses, the backbone of the Met Gala's cultural relevancy, buy up tables and invite high-profile figures they hope to host.
For that reason, even the hottest celebrities, are rarely paying full freight for their spots atop the staircase.
The event is ultimately a fundraiser and has, to date, under the leadership of Anna Wintour, raised some $223.5million for the museum's Costume Institute.
Last year, the gala raised about $22million.
Famously, Anna Wintour - the frosty Condé Nast chief content officer, global editorial director at Vogue, and a Met Trustee since 1999 - supervises the tightly-controlled guest list.
Some 400 guests attended the 2023 event, according to the Associated Press.
This year's Gala will take place around the Costume Institute's execution of its new exhibit: 'Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion.'
The exhibit, which attendees will get an early viewing of this evening, celebrates the 'reanimation' of pieces from the institute's collection that have long-lived as 'motionless' artwork, as opposed to dynamic pieces that can be 'worn or heard, touched, or smelled.'
'The exhibition endeavors to reanimate these artworks by re-awakening their sensory capacities through a diverse range of technologies, affording visitors sensorial 'access' to rare historical garments and rarefied contemporary fashions,' said exhibit curator Andrew Bolton.
'By appealing to the widest possible range of human senses, the show aims to reconnect with the works on display as they were originally intended - with vibrancy, with dynamism, and ultimately with life.'
Famously, Anna Wintour - the frosty Condé Nast chief content officer, global editorial director at Vogue, and a Met Trustee since 1999 - supervises the tightly-controlled guest list
Chris Hemsworth (pictured) was singled out by Vogue editor Anna Wintour to co-host the 2024 Met Gala, in addition to Zendaya, Bad Bunny, Jennifer Lopez, and a small handful of other fashionable names
The Gala is also being honorarily co-chaired by Loewe creative director Jonathan Anderson and TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew
Guram Gvasalia and Doja Cat at the Monse Maison Pre-Met Cocktail Celebration ahead of Monday's event
Lineisy Montero at the Monse Maison Pre-Met Cocktail Celebration held at La Mercerie on May 5, 2024
Zendaya, currently in the middle of promoting her high-profile new film Challengers, will make a triumphant return to the Gala's red carpet
Jennifer Lopez seen leaving Anna Wintour's pre-Met Gala dinner. 05 May 2024 - the superstar actress and singer is one of Monday night's co-event chairs
The dress code for tonight's celebration follows the 'sensorial' appeal of the exhibit, as well as the concept of time as it relates to fashion and specific pieces of clothing.
Guests have been asked to dress with the idea 'The Garden of Time' in mind.
Some 250 garments from the institute's 33,000 pieces will be on display - many of them have never been shown before, and some, are reportedly too delicate to hang, lest they fall apart completely.
Hence, the exhibition's title 'Sleeping Beauties,' refers to the fact that some of the extremely delicate pieces will be displayed lying in glass cases, like the fairytale princess did.
Max Hollein, the Met's Director, said: '
The Met's innovative spring 2024 Costume Institute exhibition will push the boundaries of our imagination and invite us to experience the multisensory facets of a garment, many of which get lost when entering a museum collection as an object.
'Sleeping Beauties will heighten our engagement with these masterpieces of fashion by evoking how they feel, move, sound, smell and interact when being worn, ultimately offering a deeper appreciation of the integrity, beauty and artistic brilliance of the works on display.'
Monday night's spectacle is being co-chaired this year by Chris Hemsworth, Bad Bunny, Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez, as well as Loewe creative director Jonathan Anderson and TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew.
