The tables are set, the cameras are waiting and some of today’s most stylish cultural figures are ascending the steps of New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. Fashion’s big night out, the Met Gala, is officially underway.
The annual glitzy fundraiser routinely attracts the year’s boldest, bravest and most dazzling looks and this evening’s dress code, “Fashion is Art,” will no doubt fling open the door to all manner of playful and dramatic interpretations from the 400 or so (mostly A-list) attendees.
The theme mirrors the content of an accompanying exhibition titled “Costume Art” at the Met’s Costume Institute, for which the gala is a major source of income. This year, the Met Gala has raised a record $42 million for the museum’s Costume Institute, up from last year’s record of $31 million, the museum announced during a press conference before the event.
Tonight’s co-chairs include Venus Williams, Nicole Kidman and Beyoncé — who is returning to the event after a decade-long hiatus — along with Vogue’s Anna Wintour, who is credited with transforming the Met Gala into a global spectacle of entertainment and patronage. They’ll be some of the first stars to cross the carpet tonight.
CNN contributed to this report.
