Met Gala 2024: No Selfie Rule To Exorbitant Ticket Prices, Lesser-known Facts About The Gala

The 2024 Met Gala will take place next month, with the theme Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion, which refers to 50 historically significant pieces, some of which are far too fragile to wear again. The fashion soiree will return to the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 6, 2024, to celebrate the Costume Institute's upcoming exhibition. According to Vogue, the annual fashion event will honour the theme with the dress code: The Garden of Time. The dress code is inspired by JG Ballard's 1962 short story of the same title. As we gear up for this season's biggest fashion event, let us go through some of the lesser known facts about the gala.

No selfies permitted

In 2015, it was reported that social media use had been prohibited at the Met Gala, in order to prevent celebrities from spending the majority of the evening on their smartphones. "The use of phones for photography and social media will not be permitted inside the gala," a notice read as per independent. Numerous guests have previously defied the apparent ban at the Met Gala, including beauty mogul and reality TV star Kylie Jenner, who took a large bathroom selfie at the event in 2017.

Celebs under 18 are not allowed

In 2018, it was revealed that the Met Gala had implemented a new age restriction. This meant that prominent figures under the age of 18 were no longer permitted to attend the event.

No smoking allowed inside venue

In 2017, celebrities such as Bella Hadid, Dakota Johnson, and Marc Jacobs were photographed smoking cigarettes in the Met Gala bathroom. That same year, it was reported that board members and donors had expressed displeasure with guests smoking at the event, with one calling it "disrespectful to the art collection". As per Page Six, guests at the 2018 Met Gala were informed that it was "illegal to smoke in the museum" in response to complaints.

No onion breath

Following the Met Gala red carpet, guests enjoy a cocktail hour and a formal dinner. According to The New York Post, Wintour specifically requests that certain food items be removed from the menu. According to a former Vogue employee, parsley is banned to avoid the herb becoming stuck in people's teeth. To avoid bouts of bad breath, no onion or garlic are served at the event, and guests are not offered bruschetta in case of food spillages on extravagant ensembles.

Seating arrangements are strict

Wintour is extremely particular about where her Met Gala guests sit on the night of the event. Sylvana Ward Durrett, director of special projects at Vogue, explained in the 2016 documentary The First Monday in May that a lot of "power-brokering" goes into the seating plan.