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The 2023 Met Gala took place on Monday with the theme of the exclusive event dedicated to the late fashion icon Karl Lagerfeld. The evening kicked off at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 1, 2023, in celebration of the Met Gala Costume Institute's upcoming exhibition, "Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty."
Along with Anna Wintour, the editor-in-chief, there were four co-chairs for the event: Dua Lipa, Michaela Coel, Penelope Cruz, and Roger Federer. Every guest at the Met Gala who is invited to attend the event is carefully picked by Wintour herself.
The Gala follows several strict guidelines that all attendees are expected to follow. A few of these are quite baffling, but they all seem to come with a reasonable explanation.
Met Gala's five most unexpected rules that will leave you baffled
No selfies at the venue
At the glamorous event, one would assume that celebrities would be forgiven for taking one or two selfies to capture moments of the Gala that they would like to treasure.
However, in 2015, it was reported that the use of social media itself had been banned at the event. This was done to limit the time celebrities spend on their phones through the course of the evening. A notice sent to the guests of the event stated:
"The use of phones for photography and social media will not be permitted inside the gala."
The reported ban at the Gala has been rebelled against by numerous guests in the past few events. Kylie Jenner, the reality TV star, reportedly took a large bathroom selfie at the 2017 Met Gala.
Age limit of 18 set in stone
In 2018, the glitzy gala put in place a new age restriction of 18. This age limitation meant that high-profile celebrities under the age of 18 would no longer be allowed to attend the event, no matter their qualifications.
Maddie Ziegler, a 16-year-old model and dancer, talked about the rules in 2018 when she was asked about her presence on the Met Gala 2018 red carpet. Ziegler said:
"I can't go, because I'm not old enough."
Initial speculation about the new age restriction said that it had been introduced due to the 2018 Met Gala theme "Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination." However, a spokesperson for the event confirmed that the decision stemmed from it being an inappropriate event for people under 18 years of age.
No smoking under the Metropolitan Museum of Art
In 2017, celebrities like Dakota Johnson, Bella Hadid and Marc Jacobs took pictures of themselves smoking cigarettes in the bathroom of the museum where the Gala was held.
The very same year, it was reported that board members and donors to the event had allegedly expressed their dismay over the disrespect the art collection incurred while the parties smoked.
According to Page Six, guests at the 2018 Met Gala were informed in the guidelines that it was "illegal to smoke in the museum". The invitation itself stated that cancer-inducing activity was strictly banned at the event.
In 2003, New York City banned smoking indoors in several locations, including office buildings, bars and theaters. This was enforced by then-mayor Michael Bloomberg.
No onions or garlic served at the venue
The red carpet event ends with guests at the event given cocktails and a formal dinner.
Certain food items like garlic and onions are purposely removed from the menu at the request of Anna Wintour herself to avoid the bad breath that comes with it. A former Vogue employee said that parsley was also banned to avoid the risk of herbs getting stuck in people's teeth during the course of the event.
Bruschetta isn't offered to guests either, to avoid food spillage on extravagant costumes and ensembles that take months to put together.
In 2016, model Karlie Kloss had to have her floor-length gown cut into a mini dress for the after-party after red wine spilled onto the white fabric of her outfit.
Strict seating arrangements
Anna Wintour is extremely particular about her seating arrangements for the duration of the night.
In a 2016 documentary called The First Monday in May, details of the degree of planning that went into the occasion were explained. Sylvana Ward Durrett, the director of special projects at Vogue, explained that a lot of "power-brokering" goes into the seating charts. Durrett said:
"A lot of thought goes into who sits next to who, if they sat together last year, if they've sat next to each other at other events, so much goes into it, it's shocking."
According to Ward Durrett, spouses never sit next to each other. They are always placed apart because:
"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?"
The 2023 Met Gala was attended by some of the most popular celebrities and icons in the world, along with an infamous cockroach that snuck into the event, making a grand red carpet debut.
The theme for this year's event was in honor of Karl Lagerfeld, and celebrities dressed in their most extravagant and maximalist outfits to capture the emotions perfectly.
