Met Gala 2025: Record $31 million raised at fashion's favourite night
Even before its commencement, “fashion’s biggest night out”, the Met Gala 2025, garnered a place for itself in history as the highest-grossing edition of the event in its tireless legacy of 77 years. Held every year on the first Monday of May, the Metropolitan Museum of Art has reported on May 5 that a staggering $31 million has been raised this year through the annual fundraiser.
Infamously known as the most valuable tickets of the New York City’s cultural benefit scene, this year’s theme, “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style", reflected a sense of resistance towards racial, societal and gendered expectations put on the Orient, inspired by Monica L. Miller’s book, 'Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity'.
More than what it contributes to the fashion scene, the gala acts as a primary fundraiser for the museum’s costume institute and has acquired huge sums in the previous years as well. In 2024, the theme was 'Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion', and acquired a total of $26 million in total. The proceeds from the event will go to the daily operating costs of the Costume Institute. Various corporate sponsors also include large donations and so do certain celebrities.
According to the New York Times, the event gains approximately $4 for every $1 spent, with tables for 10 starting at $350,000 and individual tickets offered at $75,000, a figure that has progressively tripled over the last one decade.
As a primary powerhouse in the recent iterations of the event, Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour is known for her conscious effort towards the secrecy of the event.
“Anna is meticulously vetting every single thing, from the napkins to the forks to the lighting. The detail of the flowers, the detail of the ushers, how they’re dressed, everything has been vetted for months and weeks and months and weeks,” the late Andre Leon Tally, contributing editor at Vogue, was quoted as saying.
The coveted guest list this year included influential names from the global stage such as Shah Rukh Khan, Pharrell Williams, Rihanna, Zendaya, Priyanka Chopra, Lewis Hamilton, Diljit Dosanjh, and Mona Patel.
This edition of the Met Gala solidifies its status as fashion’s biggest night out both literally and financially, with this year’s theme being a first—dedicated to designers of colour, taking a departure from the traditional, westernised narrative.
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