Celebrity. Money. Fashion. It's Met Gala Night.

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Staggering price most celebrities have to pay in order to attend the Met Gala

Can you imagine being invited to a party then having to pay a fortune to attend? Well, that's exactly what the Met Gala is.

The star-studded affair is arguably one of fashion 's biggest nights, and takes place on the first Monday of May each year.

Since Lambert hosted the first ball, Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour has taken over the reigns. She has been the lead chairperson of the Gala event since 1995.

Wintour oversees the benefit committee and the guest list, as well as choosing who will co-host the glamours event with her. This year's hosts were Zendaya , Jennifer Lopez , Bad Bunny and Chris Hemsworth .

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Good morning. It's Monday. The Met Gala, where money and power intersect, is tonight. We'll look at why the event is important.

New York City's biggest fashion event — the Met Gala, officially the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute benefit — is tonight. You would know if you're going. It's an invitation-only extravaganza, and the guest list is a closely guarded secret.

The gala is an annual event, but this year, there may be more than the usual crowd of photographers and celebrity-watchers outside. Condé Union, which represents workers at Vogue — the fashion magazine run by Anna Wintour, who has been the mastermind of the Gala for 25 years — and other Condé Nast publications threatened to appear. "Condé Nast management: Meet us at the table, or we'll meet you at the Met," a post from the union said on X .

I asked Vanessa Friedman, The New York Times's fashion director and chief fashion critic, to explain why a showcase for power from Hollywood, fashion and beyond matters to New York — and what to expect as the night unfolds.

I think it's more than that. It's global. You see that with designers flying in, celebrities flying in, powers-that-be flying in.

She has been the chair since 1999. She first got involved in 1995 but for three or four years alternated the chairmanship with another fashion editor, Liz Tilberis of Harper's Bazaar. The gala predated both of them, however. It had been created by Eleanor Lambert in 1948 to raise money for the Costume Institute.

But the Met Gala as we know it today, with this sort of stew of celebrity and money and glamour and extraordinary dress-up and peak eyeball — that's Anna's creation.

It's the perfect word. But the Met Gala's reason for being is to ensure the health and continuity of the Costume Institute at the Met. This party provides the funds for its annual operating budget.