The first Monday in May is finally here. Tonight, the iconic Met steps will be swathed in luxury carpeting and littered with starlets, fashion designers, stray bobby pins, and the occasional roach. That’s right: It’s Met Gala time. This year, attendees are tasked with abiding by a “Garden of Time” dress code, which is in some way connected to the museum’s accompanying exhibit honoring fragile garments from the Costume Institute’s archives. Whether or not this translates to “just wear flowers” remains to be seen.
But we are here to figure out something slightly less opaque: Who will be there? As usual, the secretive guest list is locked deep in the caverns of Vogue’s offices, but some info has managed to trickle out. Here’s what we know so far.
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Who will definitely be at the Met Gala?
Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez, Chris Hemsworth, and Bad Bunny are this year’s co-chairs, a role that, as I understand it, comes with a requirement to show face. (This will be Hemsworth’s first ever Met Gala, which is truly a zero-to-100 move. Good for him!) Zendaya, who hasn’t been to a Met Gala since 2019, confirmed on Live With Kelly & Mark that her stylist Law Roach is in charge of her look (though as of last week, Roach claimed her dress wasn’t even made yet). Being co-chair probably also gets you a plus-one, which could mean a flirty appearance from Zendaya’s boyfriend, Tom Holland, or — bless his soul — Ben Affleck trudging up the fashion world’s favorite stairs. Luckily for him, no cameras are allowed inside to document his despair.
Also likely to be present: honorary Met Gala chairs Jonathan Anderson and Shou Zi Chew. Anderson is the creative director of Loewe, and you may recognize Chew as TikTok’s CEO. Last year, he testified in front of congress to address concerns about TikTok’s links to the Chinese government, earning him a lot of horny fan cams but zero goodwill with politicians. As TikTok faces the prospect of a nationwide ban, it seems to be making a big publicity push in the U.S. — including taking up the mantle of lead sponsor for the Met Gala.
In an interview with British Vogue, Rihanna — who occasionally deigns to stop by Anna Wintour’s little party hours after the red carpet has emptied — confirmed she’ll be there. (Of course, she did not say what time she plans to arrive.) She will apparently be wearing “something Fenty” but does not want to go “nips out.” If past years are any indication, she’ll probably bring her partner in romance and parenting, A$AP Rocky.
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Who will probably be at the Met Gala?
Kim Kardashian hasn’t missed a Met Gala since 2012, so chances are she’ll be attending with at least two of her sisters. (Last year it was just Kylie and Kendall, but in 2022 Kris was invited along with all her daughters.) Blake Lively, a Met Gala mainstay who missed last year for unexplained reasons — though she had very recently given birth — is also pretty likely to return, and she was seen in New York earlier this week.
Over at the Times, fashion critic Vanessa Friedman surmised that Anderson has likely recruited a handful of Loewe-affiliated celebrities to attend. Josh O’Connor, who along with Zendaya is in the thick of Challengers promo, is likely (perhaps in an elevated “I TOLD YA” tee?). The same goes for Greta Lee, Taylor Russell (who was also spotted in New York this week), and Jamie Dornan.
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Who might be at the Met Gala?
A mysterious source in “Page Six” claims Olivia Rodrigo, Uma Thurman, Sarah Paulson, and Cara Delevingne all made the guest list again. The tabloid also says Gisele Bündchen is expected, potentially hand in hand with her hot jujitsu boyfriend. Also, two exciting new faces have allegedly made Wintour’s roster this year: Lily Gladstone and Ayo Edebiri. (Edebiri also wears a lot of Loewe.) “Page Six” believes Barry Keoghan will be there for the second year in a row, so Edebiri will have someone from the motherland to hang out with. Sláinte to that.
According to Friedman, the “odds are good” that aspiring fashion A-listers Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez will bring their famously experimental style to the red carpet this year. (They’ve already shown up at a pre-gala party, alongside Pamela Anderson.) There’s also speculation that newly signed WNBA rookie Caitlin Clark and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman will be there. What a mix.
A slew of celebrities were seen out and about in New York in the days leading up to the gala. Doja Cat and her knack for distinctly confusing clothing hit the Fifth Avenue Cartier mansion with the creative director of Vetements. Sabrina Carpenter, Selena Gomez, and Benny Blanco were allegedly all spotted leaving the West Village recording studio Electric Lady together. Also in town: Bella Hadid (with her cowboy boyfriend, no less), Rosalía, Anne Hathaway, Emily Ratajkowski, Sydney Sweeney, Dua Lipa (and possibly her boyfriend Callum Turner, who was in New York with her less than a week ago), Kaia Gerber, Kate Moss, Lionel Richie, Leonardo DiCaprio, Chrissy Teigen and John Legend, Teyana Taylor, Pharrell, Paloma Elsesser, Karlie Kloss, Jodie Turner-Smith, Elle Fanning, and Lil Nas X.
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What about Taylor Swift?
The last Met Gala Taylor Swift attended was eight years and three boyfriends ago, but Swifties have never given up hope that she will make a big couture comeback. This would not be a bad time for it — between her massively successful tour, impending album release, and the most public relationship of all time, Swift is having an incredible year. Of course, her fans managed to dig up a few shreds of evidence that she could be there — Swift’s tour schedule gives her time to fly to New York on May 6, and her stylist Joseph Cassell allegedly followed a Met Gala fan account in February. But TMZ claims Swift and Kelce RSVPed “no” to individual invitations, denying us their long-awaited red-carpet debut.
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Who is not going?
In a shocking turn of events, Jared Leto — whose past Met Gala getups make frequent appearances in my nightmares — is missing this year’s fête to go on tour with 30 Seconds to Mars. (Did you remember that Jared Leto was in 30 Seconds to Mars? Me neither.) In April, he told E! he would be “back on the road” during the event but “there in spirit with my head and my cat.” This is even spookier than if he was actually going.
This post has been updated.
