Natalia Kazantseva
It’s that time of the year again where celebrities and socialites impatiently wait for the Met gala lineup and infamous theme. This year, the theme will be “Karl Lagerfeld: A line of Beauty”, in honor of the famous Chanel creative director who passed away in 2019. In the fashion world, the Met Gala is considered to be probably the “hottest social event”, exclusive only to carefully chosen celebrities. Essentially, the Met Gala is a fundraising benefit for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York city that includes a red carpet where stars show off their outfits made by the most honorable designers. From Burberry to Gucci to Louis Vuitton, spectators from all around the world anticipate the best dressed celebrity and judge which fashion designer has outdone itself every year. A lot of preparation and thought goes into this gala, more than some think. Many celebrities feel the pressure of this event since receiving an invitation is not given to everyone, but it is a huge honor. A big element in the success of the Met Gala and why it is so famous is because of Anna Wintour, the appointed chairwoman since 1995.
Anna Wintour is a very influential figure in the fashion world. She is mainly known as the editor-in-chief of American Vogue and the chief content office of Condé Nast. Her presence in the magazine has been so influential that Vogue reaches over 12 million readers in print and an average of 1.2 million monthly online visitors. Her work includes featuring celebrities on the famous Vogue cover, taking the magazine’s pages out on the street and championing new American designers. But her story goes way back.
Anna Wintour, known as Dame Anna Wintour, was born on November 3rd 1949 in London England. Her father was also an editor in London’s Evening Standard, a famous running newspaper at the time. In 1966, she dropped out of North London Collegiate to become a fashion assistant at Harper’s & Queen magazine four years later. In between that time, what had drawn Mrs. Wintour to fashion was how the look of the woman was changing, especially with the end of the class system and the revolution. So, while wearing her infamous bob, she took a job at a london store called Biba and then completed her training program at Harrods, which led her to the Harper’s & Queen magazine position. Pursuing her passion in fashion, Anna Wintour decided to move to the Big Apple in 1975, where she then became a junior fashion editor at Harper’s bazaar magazine. Her career in America then grew quickly by working in numerous other magazines such as Viva and Savvy in 1980, where she claimed the title of independent, career-conscious woman. Later, she pursued her work at British Vogue in 1985 and as editor in House of Garden in 1987. The changes she implemented were felt by many, as she believed “There’s a new kind of woman out there” and “she’s interested in business and money.” Finally, her featuring in New York magazine in 1988 was noticed by many influential people including Alex Liberman, who appointed her to be the creative director of American Vogue, where she replaced Grace Mirabella.
Previously, Vogue covers would focus on publishing only exclusive models, but as Anna Wintour implemented her philosophy of democratic fashion, she would use “Mass with Class” as her mantra (Britannica). Until then, Vogue covers began using important influential women such as Nicole Kindman and Angelina Jolie, changing the perspective of the magazine. So, all this explains why Mrs. Wintour’s opinion and decisions are praised in events like the Met Gala, as she paved the movement for independent women who are interesting and show class.
Since the director in chief chooses who gets an invitation to the Met Gala, celebrities can’t just buy a ticket for it just because it is a charity event. Yes, looks do matter, but who you are and how you put yourself out to the world matters even more. Indeed, the guest list for the Met Gala has been carefully monitored by Anna Wintour and her team since 1995, where only around 600 people make the list each year. If you would like to know how to score an invitation to the Met Gala, here’s a list of 3 things to do that could help you get an invite:
- Donate a lot of money
Celebrities can donate a lot of money individually or designer houses can buy tables at the event which range between $75,000 and $250,000, depending on how big the brand is and its relationship with the magazine.
- Be the “IT” hot topic
Usually, Vogue’s team makes a list of who’s the hot celebrity at the moment such as musicians, artists and models, then the celebrities selected get proposed to fashion houses, where they invite them as guests and receive EVERYTHING for free. No wonder why the hadid sisters are always there.
- Date someone famous
Finally, there’s no better way to get noticed like dating someone super famous. I mean, without Brooklyn Beckham, would Nicola Peltz really be invited on her own?
As of today, with the Met Gala 2023 coming up in less than two months, there is already speculation of who might be coming. Honored celebrities such as Blake Lively, Penelope Cruz and Dua Lipa have surely scored a place, but many are shocked that the kardashian clan might not be coming this year. A close source to Anna Wintour’s team reveals that the invitation list this year will be very strict. Many speculate why that is true.
Does the theme of this year’s met Gala have anything to do about it? The honoring of Karl Lagerfeld and his legacy should be honored in the most prestigious way, which could explain why. Or does Anna Wintour’s philosophy don’t match with the Kardashians anymore?
While no one knows if this is true yet, I think we can agree that everyone is excited to see who’s going to be coming and especially, what are the hot topic celebrities going to be wearing, in honor of the infamous Chanel creative director, Karl Lagerfeld.
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