The Met Gala is fashion\u2019s biggest night \u2014 and best-kept secret.<\/p>\n
The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City holds its annual fundraiser for the Costume Institute exhibit on the first Monday in May, inviting an elite list of guests to ascend the famed staircase for an elaborate dinner. Still, details about what goes on inside the benefit are unknown given its infamous no-phone policy.<\/span><\/p>\n Each Met Gala follows a certain theme, which event designer <\/span>Ra\u00fal \u00c1vila <\/b>and his team work tirelessly to bring to life inside the museum.<\/p>\n \u201cI have around 300 people working with me, and the hardest thing today is finding people who genuinely like this kind of job,\u201d \u00c1vila exclusively told Us Weekly <\/i>ahead of the Monday, May 4, gala. \u201cSome people think that by working at the Met Gala they\u2019ll be invited, but it doesn\u2019t work like that. I have the honor of being invited because I\u2019ve been doing this for many years and because Anna [Wintour]<\/strong> is fond of me.\u201d<\/p>\n While \u00c1vila decorates the Met space, the biggest fashion houses design over-the-top garments for the attendees that fit the theme in various interpretations. \u00c1vila confirmed to Us<\/i> thatWintour, the longtime organizer of the event, approves every outfit.<\/p>\n \u201cThey don\u2019t come to her because they think that she\u2019s going to say something bad. She\u2019s just going to guide the person to the best of her knowledge. She\u2019s Anna Wintour,\u201d \u00c1vila said. \u201cShe was the editor-in-chief of Vogue<\/i> magazine for over 30 years. She is the bible of fashion. She is the woman who has brought this today. So, yes, it\u2019s respectful to hear what she has to say about what you\u2019re going to wear.\u201d<\/p>\n According to \u00c1vila, Wintour, 76, is \u201chappy\u201d to weigh in and guide each Met attendee to \u201clook their best\u201d on the red carpet.<\/p>\n \u00c1vila has also gotten sneak peeks at some of the custom looks.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of sketching that most of the designers send to the office, and I\u2019ve seen those sketches, and they\u2019re going to say, \u2018So-and-so is going to wear this dress, and this is the sketch, this is the color. What do you think?\u2019 It goes from there,\u201d he told Us. <\/i>\u201cI\u2019ve seen a lot of these sketches, and they have the mood board with colored fabrics and shoes and jewelry and accessories. Not just the outfit; shoes and accessories [are] a big part of the whole package.\u201d<\/p>\n While there is a long list of Met attendees, any no-shows respectfully turn down the invitation with plenty of notice.<\/p>\n \u201cIf they cannot make it, they will say immediately, \u2018I\u2019m so sorry, but this year I won\u2019t be able to go,\u2019\u201d \u00c1vila explained. \u201cEverybody [else invited] shows up.\u201d<\/p>\n According to \u00c1vila, Wintour \u201ccarefully curates\u201d the guest list each year.<\/p>\n \u201cShe also reviews many of the outfits people plan to wear and will tell them whether it works or not. She is someone who is very straightforward with everyone, and people trust her word,\u201d \u00c1vila said. \u201cI think that, with this theme, Anna probably has a lot of influence over how she herself dresses and what people will be wearing that night.\u201d<\/p>\n Monday\u2019s Met Gala will follow the \u201cCostume Art\u201d theme with a dress code of \u201cFashion Is Art.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s truly about studying the form of the human body in a very artistic way, and how to place clothing on the different parts of the human body,\u201d \u00c1vila explained of the theme. \u201cWe\u2019re all completely different \u2014 some are thin, some are fuller, some are tall, some are short. It\u2019s \u2018Costume Is Art\u2019 [sic] because they study the figure and shape of each human being, and from there they begin to design their pieces. It\u2019s a very interesting theme.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00c1vila works on each Met Gala design for a full year, ensuring that every detail is a \u201cspectacular\u201d representation of the theme.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/wp-content\/themes\/us-weekly\/assets\/img\/newsletter-bg-narrow.jpg\")
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