From dress codes to no sitting with spouses: 12 rules all Met Gala attendees must follow

Here are the 12 strict rules all Met Gala attendees must follow

Given the Met Gala's history, it's safe to assume that the attendees of the 2024 edition, slated for May 6, will surely leave people gasping for air with their audacious looks. Although the exclusive annual fundraiser gives a huge platform to designers and their celebrity fashionistas to showcase their talent, the event’s invite also comes with some particular and strange rules. Let's take a look at 12 of these regulations that both celebs and staff have to follow:

1. Not everyone gets the Met Gala invite

The prestigious Met Gala is an invite-only event. Brands often buy a table and choose who to invite. Having said that, all the attendees must be approved by Vogue and the fashion magazine's editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour. The ticket for the 2024 event reportedly cost $75,000.

2. Guests have to follow a dress code

The theme for this year’s exhibit is "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion" and the dress code is "The Garden of Time," which is reportedly inspired by JG Ballard's short story of the same name, published in 1962. The dystopian story revolves around Count Axel and his wife, who reside in a beautiful villa with a garden of glass-like "time flowers." However, they are at risk of being attacked by an unruly mob and to stop them Axel picks a time flower each evening, which causes time to rewind and sends the mob back. When the Count picks the last flower, the couple has no choice but to wait out their fate. The story is often interpreted as a metaphor for the evolution of human history and the never-ending cycle of creation and destruction.

3. Smoking is prohibited at the Met Gala

To respect New York City's Smoke-Free Air Act, attendees are encouraged not to smoke. However, Bella Hadid, Rami Malek, and Dakota Johnson reportedly broke the rule in 2017, leading New York City’s Health Commissioner, Dr Mary Bassett, to write an open letter to the Metropolitan Museum’s management. Bassett noted, "We were dismayed to read reports that some celebrities chose smoking as their fashion accessory and flagrantly violated New York City's smoking laws. There is also no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke."

4. Attendees are prohibited from touching the artwork

Just like smoking, touching the artwork is also discouraged at the Met Gala. In 2023, Gayle King asked curator Andrew Bolton, "What's the best way to never be invited back again?" to which Bolton responded, "Smoking. Smoking in the galleries. Touching the artwork. Those would be no-nos."

5. Met Gala discourages the use of phones at the event

The event's no-phone policy was reportedly introduced in 2015. A notice from the time read, "The use of phones for photography and social media will not be permitted inside the gala."

6. Attendees are expected to interact with each other

Sylvana Durrett, former director of special projects at Vogue, disclosed that the staff keeps an eye on the guests to see if they are interacting with each other or not. "Anna is sort of an old-school traditionalist. She likes a dinner party where people are actually speaking to each other. We aren't sitting over people's shoulders, but if it's an obvious thing, we might gently remind them," said Durrett. 

7. Each guest is allowed only a few seconds to speak with Anna Wintour

Although Wintour greets guests as they arrive for the gala, they are only able to speak to her for a maximum of 20 seconds.

8. Guests have to adhere to the event organizer's sitting arrangement

Work on the Met Gala's sitting arrangement plan reportedly begins in December and gets finalized in April. Talking to Vogue, Met Gala organizer Eaddy Kiernan noted, "We really try to think very carefully about who’s sitting next to each other. Our ideal pairing would maybe be two people who we think will just get on like a house on fire, but who may not even realize that they have a lot in common."

9. Attendees aren't allowed to sit with their spouses

On the topic, veteran Met Gala planner Durrett shared, "The whole point of these things is to meet new people and to be interested in what others are doing. What's the point if you come here to hang out with your husband?"

10. Met Gala guests must be 18 or older

In 2018, the Met Gala brought forward an age restriction, barring individuals under the age of 18 from attending the event. Organizers told The Hollywood Reporter that "it's not an appropriate event for people under 18."

11. Dishes with onion and garlic cannot be served at the Met Gala

To avoid bad breath, the gala has banned onion and garlic from its menu. Reportedly, chefs also can't use parsley "because you don’t want that stuck in your teeth."

12. The food served at the gala must look good

The gala is very particular about the look of the food served as revealed by Tom Ford. He reportedly said, "What we served had to look right on the plate together. I not only had to see it plated, but if the colors didn’t work together, of the vegetables, and the whatever, they had to go."