Everything you need to know about the 2024 Met Gala, fashion's biggest night out

A file picture shows Rihanna at the Met Gala last year. The event is a black-tie extravaganza held the first Monday in May to raise money for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s fashion wing – and unofficially, a party of the year. Photo: The New York Times

First things first: What is the Met Gala?

Officially, it’s the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute benefit, a black-tie extravaganza held the first Monday in May to raise money for the museum’s fashion wing, the only curatorial department at the Met that has to pay for itself.