Everything You Need To Know About The 2025 Met Gala

Throughout the year, a few red carpets capture our attention, but there’s only one that has us talking for days afterwards. Of course, we’re talking about the Met Gala. Hosted at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, the Met Gala is the most exciting day on the fashion calendar and always inspires everyone to embrace their inner fashion critic. 

The theme changes every year and is based on the museum’s spring exhibition. The Met Gala red carpet is an opportunity for designers and attendees alike to take real chances with their fashion, crafting true show-stoppers that get everyone talking. When it comes to the Met Gala, bigger is always better.

Ahead, we answer all the questions you might have about this year’s gala, including what this year’s theme is (and what it means for the fashion), as well as where to watch it and who’s attending. 

The Met Gala always takes place on the first Monday in May, but due to the time difference, Australians are more likely to watch the red carpet on the first Tuesday in May. This year, that means Tuesday, May 6, with red-carpet arrivals likely starting around 8:00 a.m. (AEST).

The 2025 Met Gala theme typically aligns with the Metropolitan Museum of Art's spring exhibition for that year. That exhibition was announced on Wednesday, October 9 2024, to be “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style”. Described by the museum as "a cultural and historical examination of Black style over three hundred years through the concept of dandyism," expect guests to wear haute couture creations inspired by this theme.

The exhibition will feature 12 sections, each section representing a characteristic that defines dandy style, with some of these being Ownership, Presence, Distinction, Disguise, and Freedom. We predict that some fashion houses will also draw from these characteristics when dressing their talent for the 2025 Met Gala, too.

Dandyism wasn't just an aesthetic, either, with the exhibition exploring its social and political elements, plus the concept of self-presentation as a "mode of distinction and resistance", especially when it comes to race, sexuality, gender and class – so it's to be expected that fashion houses will also explore these aspects through fashion, too.

Since 1995, the Met Gala has been hosted by Anna Wintour, Editor-in-Chief of American Vogue and Global Editorial Director of Condé Nast. This year, she has named Colman Domingo, Lewis Hamilton, A$AP Rocky, and Pharrell Williams as co-chairs for the event, with LeBron James as honorary chair. This means they will officially welcome attendees to The Met on May 5. This follows last year’s co-chairs: Bad Bunny, Chris Hemsworth, Jennifer Lopez, and Zendaya.

According to Vogue, the Met Gala typically has around 450 attendees, including the world's biggest celebrities and many influential figures, such as politicians and the who’s who of the tech and creative industries.

The red carpet guest list is usually kept top secret, and 2025 is no different. However, there are some celebrities who almost always make an appearance at the Met Gala, including Kendall Jenner, Kim Kardashian, Lady Gaga, Cardi B, and Rihanna. Some of our predictions for 2025? Artists-of-the-moment Chappell Roan, Doechii and Sabrina Carpenter, TikTok stars Addison Rae and Charli D'Amelio, and potentially some Olympic heroes from the 2024 Paris Games, like Simone Biles.

In 2025, Instagram will also be a major sponsor of the “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” exhibition, so we can likely expect to see some of the social media platform's biggest creators walking the red carpet alongside Hollywood A-listers. However, in 2024, TikTok was a lead sponsor, and while many assumed this would mean a wave of TikTok stars attending the Met Gala, only a handful appeared, showing a shift from previous years in which several creators attended alongside long-standing invitees such as Gigi Hadid.

You can watch the 2025 Met Gala via Live From E! on 7Plus and 7Bravo, or via Vogue’s digital channels. Last year, the carpet was live-streamed on the Vogue website and the brand’s Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter pages.

For a curated view of the red carpet, you can also visit the Refinery29 Australia homepage and Instagram, as we’ll be live posting the best looks from the day.