Fashion’s most talked-about night is nearly here, and it’s clear that an enormous amount of planning goes into making the Met Gala happen.
Every year, the Costume Institute fundraiser for New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art draws major names from fashion, film, music, and beyond for an ultra-glamorous evening.
Anna Wintour is once again expected to oversee proceedings, continuing her long-standing role at the event, even amid recent reports about a leadership change at Vogue.
This year’s co-chair lineup is set to include Beyoncé, alongside Nicole Kidman and tennis legend Venus Williams.
On May 4, plenty more stars are expected to arrive too. With hundreds of guests often attending, one of the biggest behind-the-scenes challenges is creating a seating plan that keeps the night flowing smoothly.
And yes, a major priority is making sure the room doesn’t become a hotspot for uncomfortable run-ins — especially when former couples are involved.
Eaddy Kiernan, who is responsible for organizing Vogue’s Met Gala each year, has previously shared how far in advance the seating process begins — and how late it can take to finalize.
“We start with a seating document when the names come together in December,” Kiernan previously told Vogue. “The actual seating chart doesn’t come together until about a month before the event, when we get a sense for the layout of the room, and the flow of the evening.”
She also explained that the decision-making isn’t random — the goal is to build tables where conversation feels natural, even if the connections aren’t obvious at first.
“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,” she divulged. “So with each person, we really do take time to think, ‘What will they talk about?’”
Kiernan added that logistics matter too — where people sit, what they can see, and who they might end up directly facing for the whole meal.
Eaddy continued: “We try and think a lot about sight lines and where people have sat in the past. And we try to make sure someone isn’t staring into the eyes of a former flame.”
So if there’s any recent celebrity dating drama in the air, it’s unlikely the seating chart will be set up to amplify it.
There’s also plenty of curiosity around who might attend without a partner. For example, Kidman has previously attended with Keith Urban, though ongoing online speculation has continued to swirl about the state of their relationship.
For anyone watching from home, the Met Gala red carpet livestream will be available via Vogue’s digital platforms, with coverage beginning at 6pm EDT / 3pm PST.
While photographers capture every step on the carpet, guests inside have to play by strict rules — including a long-running ban on selfies.
Wintour introduced the no-selfie policy in 2015, aiming to keep the inside of the event private and tightly controlled.
Even so, the rule has been tested over the years, with the occasional bathroom snap reportedly slipping onto social media after the fact.
Food is also carefully considered, with certain ingredients said to be off the menu simply because they could cause awkward red-carpet moments.
Small garnishes like chives are viewed as risky if they get stuck in teeth, while onion and garlic have been discouraged to help avoid bad breath. Anything prone to spilling on couture is also typically avoided.
Wintour has addressed the rumors that the likes of onion, chives and garlic are banned from the event, telling 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 you don’t love your assigned spot at dinner, you’re generally stuck with it — seat-hopping isn’t part of the program.
Seating is treated as a serious piece of the puzzle, with plenty of behind-the-scenes negotiation before the final placements are locked in.
“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 another hard no. The rule was reportedly emphasized again after photos emerged of celebrities smoking in Met bathrooms in 2017.
The following year, guests were reminded that it’s “illegal to smoke in the museum.”
(It’s also worth noting that indoor smoking in New York City has been prohibited since 2003, and invitations have reiterated the rule in the past.)
Age restrictions are in place as well: attendees must be 18 or older.
The policy was introduced in 2018, the year the theme was ‘Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination’.
A Met Gala spokesperson later confirmed the age restriction was introduced as ‘it’s not an appropriate event for people under 18’.