Celebrities Outraged Over Met Gala's $50K-Per-Person Ticket For This Year's 'Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty' Theme

Many of the A-list celebrities are planning on giving the most coveted fashion event of the year a miss.

The MET Gala is a celebration of the haute-couture legacy and the entertainment industry. However, according to Page Six, the elaborate invites for this year's 'Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty' MET Gala have gone out to an elite few, but sources say that most of them are opting out of the event that's hosted by Vogue editor, Anna Wintour. "We hear some Metropolitan Museum of Art donors are passing on the gala this year — as the ticket price has been raised from $30,000 to $50,000 per person", according to sources. “These people are already donating so much, to then ask for that amount is a lot,” claims a source. But another source quipped, “For every person that decides not to go, 20 people will line up behind them and beg to come.” 

Marca reports that Anna Wintour, Vogue Editor-in-Chief and the event's organizer is very selective about whom she invites to the gala and even if some could pay the amount, they would not be invited. "Will Anna want those people? Maybe, maybe not," the source says. Some claim that their reason for not attending this year's gala is the theme dedicated in honor of the legendary fashion designer: 'Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty.' It has been reported that a few fashion designers may also be opting out of the event, since they don’t want to adhere to the theme. 

Karl Lagerfeld, who passed away in 2019, was in charge of overseeing the creative output of Balmain, Patou, Chloé and Fendi, but his sartorial taste modeled a large part of Chanel's fashion statement. "Chanel themes are so iconic," said the source. "Other brands have their own identity. What are they going to do?" The source further continued, “No one seems that concerned,” and mentioned that designers can just throw together “something black and white and sparkly.” The source added that if a designer RSVPs 'no' to the Met Gala, they stand the chance of missing out in the future. “If you miss one, you might not be invited back." 

The MET Gala is all set for May 1. Andrew Bolton, the Met's curator, explained to Harper's Bazaar, that the theme will not be a straightforward retrospective, but will pay tribute to Karl's body of work in a unique manner. "At its heart, the exhibition will look at the evolution of Karl’s two-dimensional drawings into three-dimensional garments. We could not do a traditional retrospective. For one thing, I think Karl would have hated that."

"Even though one of his facets was that he was a historicist, and he would revisit themes in his work, he was always looking to the future in his own work — he hated looking back at the past," he added. "It was something he had a very conflicted relationship with." Dua Lipa, Michaela Coel, Penelope Cruz and Roger Federer will co-chair the event. The latest issue of American Vogue also signals some clues as to who will be attending. The cover pays tribute to Karl Lagerfeld with the cover featuring 10 models he loved working with the most.

Anok Yai, Shalom Harlow, Kendall Jenner, Liu Wen, Adut Akech, Natalia Vodianova, Naomi Campbell, Amber Valletta, Gigi Hadid and Devon Aoki appear on the cover, and will therefore most likely be attending the event.