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Dimitrios Kambouris | Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
In New York City, the first Monday night in May means the Met Gala — the megawatt party and fashion soiree that raises money for New York's famed Metropolitan Museum of Art.
This year's event celebrates the opening of a new show at the museum's Costume Institute: "Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty."Lagerfeld, one of the most looming presences in fashion for many decades, was the creative director for both Fendi and Chanel (respectively from 1965 and 1983 until his death in 2019) as well as his own eponymous line.
This year's hosts are actress Penélope Cruz, an ambassador for Chanel since 2018, as well as actress Michaela Coel, tennis star Roger Federer, singer Dua Lipa and Anna Wintour, the editor-in-chief of Vogue and global chief content officer for the fashion magazine's parent company, Conde Nast. Tickets, which were available by invitation only, cost $50,000 each, with tables available beginning at $300,000.
This year's guests have been asked to dress "in honor of Karl": a wide-ranging dictum, considering that over the decades Lagerfeld also designed for Chloé, Balmain and Patou.
Ironically, Lagerfeld was not a fan of putting fashion behind glass in museum displays; the exhibition's curator, Andrew Bolton, told Vogue last year that the designer often said, "'Fashion is not art—fashion belongs on the street, on women's bodies, on men's bodies.'"
Michaela Coel
Dimitrios Kambouris | Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Roger Federer and Mirka Federer
Mike Coppola | Getty Images
Penélope Cruz
Theo Wargo | Getty Images for Karl Lagerfeld
Anna Wintour and Bill Nighy
Theo Wargo | Getty Images for Karl Lagerfeld
Jeremy Pope
Dimitrios Kambouris | Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Florence Pugh
Mike Coppola | Getty Images
Lil Nas X
Dimitrios Kambouris | Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
A$AP Rocky and Rihanna
Mike Coppola | Getty Images
Brian Tyree Henry
Dimitrios Kambouris | Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Jared Leto
Mike Coppola | Getty Images
Janelle Monáe
Dimitrios Kambouris | Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Bad Bunny
Mike Coppola | Getty Images
Jenna Ortega
Theo Wargo | Getty Images for Karl Lagerfeld
Michelle Yeoh
Jamie McCarthy | Getty Images
Stephanie Hsu
Dimitrios Kambouris | Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Jennifer Lopez
Dimitrios Kambouris | Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Halle Bailey
Jamie McCarthy | Getty Images
Yung Miami
Mike Coppola | Getty Images
Anok Yai
Jamie McCarthy | Getty Images
Gigi Hadid
Jamie McCarthy | Getty Images
Brittney Griner and Cherelle Griner
Jamie McCarthy | Getty Images
Viola Davis
Mike Coppola | Getty Images
Kendall Jenner
Dimitrios Kambouris | Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Kylie Jenner
Dimitrios Kambouris | Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Kim Kardashian
Dimitrios Kambouris | Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Finneas O'Connell and Billie Eilish
Jamie McCarthy | Getty Images
Tems
Dimitrios Kambouris | Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Teyana Taylor
Jamie McCarthy | Getty Images
Olivia Rodrigo
Jamie McCarthy | Getty Images
Conan Gray
Jamie McCarthy | Getty Images
Lily Collins
Jamie McCarthy | Getty Images
Anitta
Dimitrios Kambouris | Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
David Byrne
Jamie McCarthy | Getty Images
Quinta Brunson
Jamie McCarthy | Getty Images
Aubrey Plaza
Jamie McCarthy | Getty Images
Pedro Pascal
Mike Coppola | Getty Images
Bella Ramsey
Mike Coppola | Getty Images
Sora Choi
Theo Wargo | Getty Images for Karl Lagerfeld
Stormzy
Jamie McCarthy | Getty Images
Cardi B
Jamie McCarthy | Getty Images
Mary J. Blige
Jamie McCarthy | Getty Images
François-Henri Pinault and Salma Hayek Pinault
Jamie McCarthy | Getty Images
Jessica Chastain
Dimitrios Kambouris | Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Serena Williams
Dimitrios Kambouris | Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Daniel Ricciardo
Dimitrios Kambouris | Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Anne Hathaway
Jamie McCarthy | Getty Images
Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin
Angela Weiss | AFP via Getty Images
Doja Cat
Dimitrios Kambouris | Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Naomi Campbell
Dimitrios Kambouris | Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Madelyn Cline
Mike Coppola | Getty Images
Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade
Jamie McCarthy | Getty Images
Ice Spice
Dimitrios Kambouris | Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Jeremy Strong
Mike Coppola | Getty Images
Julia Garner
Dimitrios Kambouris | Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Camila Morrone
Jamie McCarthy | Getty Images
Amanda Seyfried
Dimitrios Kambouris | Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Jamie McCarthy | Getty Images
Hannah Bagshawe and Eddie Redmayne
Jamie McCarthy | Getty Images
Jodie Comer
Jamie McCarthy | Getty Images
Yara Shahidi
Jamie McCarthy | Getty Images
Adut Akech and Wes Gordon
Jamie McCarthy | Getty Images
Karlie Kloss
Dimitrios Kambouris | Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban
Jamie McCarthy | Getty Images
Olivia Wilde
Dimitrios Kambouris | Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Ashley Graham
Dimitrios Kambouris | Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Margot Robbie
Jamie McCarthy | Getty Images
Huma Abedin
Dimitrios Kambouris | Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Gustav Witzoe
Mike Coppola | Getty Images
Maude Apatow
Theo Wargo | Getty Images for Karl Lagerfeld
Ariana DeBose
Jamie McCarthy | Getty Images
Kelsey Asbille Chow
Mike Coppola | Getty Images
Tyler Mitchell
Jamie McCarthy | Getty Images
Phoebe Bridgers
Dimitrios Kambouris | Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Amber Valletta
Jamie McCarthy | Getty Images
Kaitlyn Dever
Dimitrios Kambouris | Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Gisele Bündchen
Theo Wargo | Getty Images for Karl Lagerfeld
Quannah Chasinghorse
Jamie McCarthy | Getty Images
Liu Wen
Jamie McCarthy | Getty Images
Maya Hawke
Angela Weiss | AFP via Getty Images
Emily Ratajkowski
Mike Coppola | Getty Images
Imaan Hammam
Jamie McCarthy | Getty Images
Taika Waititi and Rita Ora
Mike Coppola | Getty Images
Emma Chamberlain
Dimitrios Kambouris | Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Chloe Fineman
Dimitrios Kambouris | Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
La La Anthony
Dimitrios Kambouris | Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Grace Widyatmadja photo edited this piece.
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