Menu
Menu
The 2023 Met Gala has been and gone, with red carpet looks, once again, taking over our feeds.
This year’s theme was ‘Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty’, paying homage to one of fashion’s most well-known designers on one of fashion’s most well-known nights.
Whether you liked the theme, the outfits or the celebrities invited, there is no denying the power this night holds over the fashion industry and the rest of the world.
Content mentioning the Met Gala earned 916 million total video views across Facebook, Instagram and Tiktok, with #MetGala dominating Twitter with over 3.4 million mentions.
Being invited to the Met is considered an honour amongst celebrities due to the publicity and exclusivity of the guest list year after year.
But what exactly is the Met Gala, and how do you get invited?
Historically, The Met takes place annually on the first Monday of May.
The gala is a fundraiser for the New York City Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute – formally named The Anna Wintour Costume Center, in dedication to the American Vogue’s editor-in-chief, who has been a chair member of the museum’s gala since 1995.
The event was founded in 1948 to encourage donations from New York’s high society. However, it did not become known as the more glamorous affair that it is today until 1972 when higher-profile celebrities began to get invited.
There are two main categories when it comes to being invited to the most prominent and exclusive social event in the world.
The first being you have donated a lot of money to the Museum of Art, and the second is fashion houses and brands that purchase tables for the event.
Much to public disbelief, most of the time, celebrities will not have to buy their own ticket to the gala. Instead, fashion brands that purchase tables hand-pick those they would like to be the face of their brand for the evening. Ranging from models they have a previous relationship with, actors, musicians and, even in recent years, TikTok stars and influencers.
This has left us asking, how do brands decide who gets to represent their clothing on such a prestigious night?
Not only is the Met Gala an exclusive event, but it is also untelevised. Meaning that, for those of us who did not get the invite from Anna Wintour, our only way “in” is through social media.
Online publicity is the driving force behind the hype of the Met Gala and can teach brands a few things about successful social media marketing.
Dressing well-known celebrities, whether the outfit is loved or hated, can skyrocket a brand’s online exposure.
With this year’s theme, it was no surprise that we saw a whole host of archive Chanel looks, with co-host Dua Lipa’s outfit comprising of over $10 million in diamonds.
Amongst the other most talked about celebrities was Anne Hathaway wearing a tweed Versace gown that wowed the public, with 74% of mentions online being positive.
Chanel was understandably the most discussed designer, with over 182,000 mentions and celebrities adorning the brand, including Lady Gaga, Naomi Campbell and Nicole Kidman.
Versace and Thom Browne ranked second and third for the most mentioned designers. Versace’s mentions can be attributed to Anne Hathaway’s appearance alongside Donatella Versace on the carpet.
Thom Browne was labelled by many online as the designer of the year. He dressed the likes of Jenna Ortega, Olivia Rodrigo, Bella Ramsey, Daniel Ricciardo and more – a sure way to get people talking online.
Whether you like it or not, it is undeniable the hold this night has on the world.
Brands have been using events as a marketing tool for years, and the Met Gala is certainly not exempt from this.
We already can’t wait to see what 2024 has in store for us…
Get monthly marketing tips, information on our services, blogs & special offers
Get monthly marketing tips, information on our services, blogs & special offers