The Met Gala is never short on famous faces, but this year there was one arrival that eclipsed the rest: Beyoncé. The 44-year-old Cowboy Carter star hadn’t attended the event in a decade, last stepping onto its red carpet 10 years ago.
When she appeared in 2016, the theme was Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology. A decade later, the focus has shifted to this year’s theme, Fashion is Art.
For her return, Beyoncé wore a bejewelled skeleton gown curated by French designer Olivier Rousteing, arriving with her husband Jay-Z and their eldest daughter, Blue Ivy.
This year, she’s also among the event’s co-chairs, joining former Vogue editor Dame Anna Wintour, actress Nicole Kidman, and tennis champion Venus Williams.
In an interview with Vogue, Beyoncé said she was thrilled to have 14-year-old Blue Ivy by her side for the night.
“It feels surreal, because my daughter’s here… She looks so beautiful. It’s incredible to be able to share it with her and I think she looks so incredible.”
When asked what she was most excited about, she explained that the evening felt different experiencing it through her daughter’s perspective, while also highlighting her long-standing relationship with Rousteing.
“I think it’s really just experiencing this through the eyes of Blue and being able to relax. And I think for me, I’m wearing Olivier Rousteing, who is someone that’s been so loyal to me, and I’ve done so many incredible, iconic looks with him. So it’s really about representing him…”.
Beyoncé wasn’t the only proud parent in attendance. Nicole Kidman was also joined by her daughter, Sunday Rose, who is 17.
Because the Met Gala enforces a strict 18-and-over policy for guests, some reports suggested an exception may have been made this year given that Kidman and Beyoncé are both co-chairs.
Other well-known families were out in force too. Kim Kardashian attended in a tangerine fibreglass breastplate by British pop artist and sculptor Allen Jones, accompanied by sisters Kylie and Kendall, who wore a custom GapStudio creation by Zac Posen.
While photographers line the carpet capturing every look, guests inside the event face an unusual restriction: they’re not allowed to take their own photos, as selfies are banned.
Anna Wintour introduced the no-selfie rule in 2015, aiming to keep what happens inside the Met Gala private.
Even so, rule-breaking has become a tradition of its own, with the occasional guest slipping a phone into the bathroom for a clandestine selfie that later surfaces online.
The list of rules doesn’t stop there. Certain foods are off-limits, largely to avoid messy mishaps that could ruin outfits or photographs.
Chives, for example, can be a problem if they lodge in teeth before pictures. Onion and garlic are also discouraged to help prevent bad breath, along with other items likely to spill onto elaborate garments.
Wintour has confirmed those menu rumours, speaking to Today host Jenna Bush Hager in 2024:
“Well, those are three things I’m not particularly fond of, and so yes, that’s true.”
And if a guest finds themselves seated near someone they’d rather avoid, they’re expected to deal with it. Seat changes aren’t allowed once arrangements are set.
Organisers keep seating plans tightly controlled, with extensive planning and “power-brokering” behind the scenes.
“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,” Sylvana Ward Durrett, former director of special projects at Vogue, said in the 2016 documentary The First Monday in May.
Smoking is also forbidden. The rule was reportedly emphasised again after photos emerged of stars including Bella Hadid, Dakota Johnson, and Marc Jacobs smoking in museum bathrooms in 2017.
The following year, attendees were reminded that it is “illegal to smoke in the museum”.
Notably, smoking indoors in New York City has been banned since 2003, and past event invitations have reiterated the policy.
Age restrictions are another hard line. If you’re under 18, you’re not supposed to be there.
The rule was introduced in 2018, the year the theme was ‘Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination’.
A Met Gala spokesperson later confirmed the age limit was introduced because ‘it’s not an appropriate event for people under 18’.