Every year, celebrities, designers, and more flock to New York City for the Costume Institute Benefit, casually known as the Met Gala, to raise money for the Costume Institute at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The glamorous affair sets a dress code based on the theme of the museum’s annual exhibit, with reverence for cultural moments, legendary designers, or other notable historical achievements.
According to TIME, the event started in December 1948 as a midnight dinner that cost $50 to attend. The first themed Met Gala occurred in 1973 as a Cristóbal Balenciaga retrospective one year after his death. In the years since, the event has evolved from an exclusive gathering to a lively red carpet, with fans anticipating show-stopping looks from the industry’s best dressed.
Anna Wintour attends The 2021 Met Gala Celebrating In America: A Lexicon Of Fashion at Metropolitan Museum of Art on September 13, 2021 in New York City.
Theo Wargo/Getty Images
“It’s become one of the rare occasions when movie stars, models, designers, society swans, rock legends, athletes, politicians, and rappers, not to mention a cultural icon or two, come together to celebrate fashion—and get to spend a night at the museum,” explained Anna Wintour.
A full guest list has not been revealed (though many always hope for a Beyoncé or Rihanna head-turner), and viewers will likely not know who is coming until the looks begin to circulate across social media. Still, there are key facts available about this year’s event. Scroll below for the who, what, where, when, and more of the 2025 Met Gala.
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When Is The 2025 Met Gala?
Image Credit: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images The Met Gala is traditionally hosted on the first Monday in May. This year, the date happens to be May 5, 2025.
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Where Is The 2025 Met Gala?
Image Credit: Mike Coppola/Getty Images The Met Gala takes place at The Metropolitan Museum of Art each year.
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Who Is Hosting Met Gala 2025?
Image Credit: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images The Met Gala host committee includes André 3000, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Grace Wales Bonner, Simone Biles and Jonathan Owens, Jordan Casteel, Dapper Dan, Doechii, Ayo Edebiri, Edward Enninful, Jeremy O. Harris, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Rashid Johnson, Regina King, Spike Lee and Tonya Lewis Lee, Audra McDonald, Janelle Monáe, Jeremy Pope, Angel Reese, Sha’Carri Richardson, Olivier Rousteing, Tyla, Usher, and Kara Walker.
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What Is The 2025 Met Gala Dress Code?
Image Credit: Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images This year’s event will have a dress code of “Tailored for You,” a nod to the exhibition’s focus on menswear, and is “purposefully designed to provide guidance and invite creative interpretation,” per The Met. It is the institute’s first exhibition to focus on menswear since 2003’s “Men in Skirts.” Composed of clothing, photographs, fine art, historical texts, artifacts, and more, it was inspired by guest curator Monica L. Miller’s 2009 book, Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity.
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Who Are The Met Gala 2025 Chairs?
Image Credit: Theo Wargo/Getty Images Colman Domingo, Lewis Hamilton, A$AP Rocky, Pharrell Williams, and Anna Wintour will co-chair the 2025 Met Gala alongside honorary chair, LeBron James. Domingo attended his first Met Gala in 2024, while this year marks Williams’ sixth time at the Met Gala. Hamilton has attended the event since 2015, and A$AP Rocky graced the red carpet in 2021 and 2023. This will be LeBron James’ Met Gala debut.
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What Is The 2025 Met Gala Theme
Image Credit: Mike Coppola/Getty Images The theme of the Spring 2025 exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s 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.
According to VOGUE, the exhibition is organized into 12 sections, each representing a characteristic that defines dandy style: Ownership, Presence, Distinction, Disguise, Freedom, Champion, Respectability, Jook (defined in Zora Neale Hurston’s “Characteristics of Negro Expression”—an important reference for the exhibition—as a space for dancing, drinking, and other leisure activities), Heritage, Beauty, Cool, and Cosmopolitanism.