The Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute, otherwise known as The Met Gala is a black-tie extravaganza held the first Monday in May to raise money for the Costume Institute, also known as the fashion department. This year it is cohosted by Lady Gaga and Harry Styles and it is sponsored by Gucci.  The theme for the 2019 event and exhibit “Camp: Notes on Fashion,” inspired by Susan Sontag’s famous 1964 essay “Notes on Camp.” The outfits represent the “love of the unnatural: of artifice and exaggeration.” All the money from ticket sales goes to the Costume Institute. Tickets this year are $30,000 apiece, and tables are about $275,000. Tickets are invitation only, and there is a waiting list. Ticket sales are needed because this is the only one of the Met’s curatorial departments that must fund itself, fashion having been an iffy proposition as an art form when the Costume Institute was established. Last year, just over $12 million was raised. This party has many nicknames such as “the Oscars of the East Coast” mainly because of the star quotient and the elaborate red carpet, where guests pose on the grand entrance stairs to the museum and get their picture taken by a swarm of paparazzi. Also, it has been nicknamed “the party of the year” and many more. The people who attend the Met Gala are invited. If celebrities are invited to the gala by a brand, it is an unspoken rule that they must wear clothes from that brand. The brand might even invite certain celebrities to sit together at the same table. The outfits of the people attending vary and are never the same as one another or some even wear multiple. For example, Kanye West wore a simple black jacket that cost about $40. Lupita Nyong’o Covered in stars, rainbows and hair combs. Katy Perry has two outfits completely different from each other. She dressed as an elaborate candle lit chandelier and later, a cheeseburger. Personally, I think Lady Gaga looked very impressive. She wore four looks in a matter of minutes on the red carpet. Also, there are some weird things that go on at the Met Gala. Jared Leto arrived at the event holding a replica of his own head. The meaning behind that was a recent Gucci fashion show featured the same accessory to match each of the models. For the last three years, posting on social media has been banned after the red carpet, but this year it wasn’t as secretive. Celebrities posted on Instagram, twitter and all social media for the public to look at and awe over. There have been many reviews about all the outfits, some good and some bad. All in all, I believe this Met Gala was very successful and it is moving in the right direction for next year.