Check Out The Highlights And Best Moments From Met Gala 2017 – The official definition of Met Gala 2017 is the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute benefit, a black-tie extravaganza that is held the first Monday in May to raise money for the Costume Institute (a.k.a. the fashion department), the only one of the Met’s curatorial departments that has to fund itself. Unofficially, these night’s festivities have been called several different things, such as “the party of the year,” “the Oscars of the East Coast” (mostly because of the star quotient and the elaborate red carpet, in which guests pose on the grand entrance stairs to the museum).

The party signals the opening of the Costume Institute’s annual blockbuster show, and it is known for its celebrity and fashion hosts. This year, the exhibition is “Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between,” and the hosts are Anna Wintour (the Wizard of Oz for this particular event), Tom Brady, Gisele Bündchen, Katy Perry and Pharrell Williams; honorary chairwomen are Ms. Kawakubo and Caroline Kennedy, the former United States ambassador to Japan.

Theo Wargo / Getty Images for US Weekly – Halle Berry poses for photos on the steps to the Met Gala. (Feet away from Berry stands fashion legend Valentino Garavani.)

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You are probably asking now: Why is this called the party of the year?

Here is the answer: Ms. Wintour, the editor of American Vogue and the artistic director of Condé Nast, took over as chairwoman of the gala in 1999. Since then, she has been instrumental in transforming a local philanthropic event into the ultimate global celebrity/power cocktail: Take a jigger of famous names from fashion, add film, politics and business, and mix. It’s such a heady combo that President Trump proposed to his wife, Melania, during the gala in 2004. It is among the hardest party tickets of the year to get — and thus, intensely coveted.

Dia Dipasupil / Getty Images for Entertainment Weekly – Rihanna was on trend in florals — and paid homage to designer Rei Kawakubo — by wearing a Comme des Garçons dress to the Met Gala.

The next question: Who is Rei Kawakubo? 

Ms. Kawakubo is a 74-year-old Japanese designer who founded her label, Comme des Garçons, in 1969, and she will be only the second living designer to be given a solo show at the Met. (The first was Yves Saint Laurent in 1983.) She routinely ends up on every list of “most influential designers of the 20th century” — and, now, the 21st — in large part because she does not accept any of the rules that govern normal clothing design. Instead, she prefers to challenge our ideas about what defines beauty, identity and gender. She goes where most other designers fear to tread, which is to say, into the realm of clothes that might look a bit weird.

Charles Sykes / Charles Sykes/Invision/AP – Laura Osnes in a pink, textured organza floral applique ball skirt and petal-embroidered crop top from Christian Siriano’s Resort 2017 Collection at the 2017 Met Gala.

Besides, she also runs a multimillion-dollar international business full of lots of wearable stuff, and collaborates regularly with Nike and Speedo. If you ever see someone in a blue and white striped T-shirt with a google-eyed heart logo on the breast, that is one of hers. So are all the Dover Street Markets around the world.

Last year, about 600 attended the party. This year, a spokeswoman for the museum said it wanted to keep it more “intimate” and “private,” so the number is probably lower.

Getty Images, Evan Agostini / Invision / AP, Dia Dipasupil / Getty Images for Entertainment Weekly – Madonna and designer Jeremy Scott arrive at the Met Gala. Madge is wearing a custom-made camouflage-patterned, silk satin bustier and fishtail skirt paired with a matching flak jacket and net shawl from Moschino by Jeremy Scott.

The Met gala is invitation-only, and there is a waiting list to get on the list. Qualifications for inclusion have to do with buzz and achievement (and beauty) more than money. Ms. Wintour has final say over every invitation and attendee, which means that even if a company buys a table, it cannot choose everyone who sits at its table: It must clear the guest with her and Vogue.

Angela Weiss / AFP / Getty Images – From left, Naomi Watts, Stella McCartney and Kate Hudson attend the Met Gala.

On the red carpet of Met Gala you are able to see celebrities like the Kardashian clan, Madonna, Lady Gaga and Beyoncé, just to mention a few.

All summed up, if its trendy, if it is fashion, if it is luxury, if it is celebrity, then it is Coveted!

Evan Agostini / Invision / AP, Getty Images, Neilson Barnard / Getty Images – Kim Kardashian West hits the red carpet at the Met Gala.

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Don’t leave without watching the following video about the worldwide renowned Moooi brand and its concept room preview:

Source: Nytimes