We've all seen the pictures of the world's biggest celebrities climbing the stairs to New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art dressed in high fashion's most extreme outfits and generally exuding fame, fortune and glamour.
But what actually happens inside the Met Gala?
The event is famously very exclusive. The red carpet arrivals are heavily photographed, videoed and live streamed — but what happens afterwards, not so much.
As US Vogue explains: "In short: it’s a secret. For this reason, guests must abide by the no phone (and, therefore, no social media) policy."
But thanks to a handful of celebs who bend the rules a little, we get some glimpses inside one of the world's biggest fashion events.
The exhibition
After the red carpet, the biggest part of the night is a tour of The Costume Institute's latest exhibition.
This year it's titled In America: An Anthology of Fashion, and it's the second instalment of last year's exhibition, which was delayed due to COVID-19.
The exhibition officially opens later this week, but of course Met Gala attendees get the first full look.
Vogue explains the rest of the night like this:
"The tour (is) followed closely by a formal black tie dinner, which precedes an eagerly-awaited musical performance. This is the foolproof formula for the annual Met Gala, an evening dedicated to celebrating the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s various exhibitions."
This is the main part of the evening that isn't supposed to be photographed, but there have been a few glimpses behind the curtain this year, thanks to people like Megan Thee Stallion, who posed for photos with the likes of Madelaine Petsch, Questlove, Anderson .Paak, Lizzo and more.
The performances
We know there were two live sets for Met Gala attendees this year — and of course a red-carpet flute moment from Lizzo (it's up to you whether that counts or not).
Lenny Kravitz took to the stage after wowing on the red carpet in a black lace ensemble with pieces by Chrome Hearts and Modern Vice. His appearance came off the back of an electric performance at the Grammys a few weeks ago.
Kacey Musgraves, who attended with her cast mates from Baz Lurhmann's long-awaited Elvis biopic that's due for release soon, also performed.
The afterparties
From there, it's more exclusivity, it's more rubbing shoulders with the biggest and best in the business, and above all, it's another outfit change.
Some of the biggest afterparties were hosted by the likes of designer Tom Ford, Burberry's chief creative officer Riccardo Tisci, and Instagram, to name a few.
Aussie actor and The Power of the Dog star Kodi Smit-McPhee was photographed at Cipriani where Riccardo Tisci, Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell hosted a star-studded event.
Model Karlie Kloss was also snapped at the same party and shared a photo on Instagram of her holding a red cup, of all things. Perhaps it was a designer red cup.
Cardi B also co-hosted an event, reportedly attended by the likes of Billie Eilish and Donatella Versace.
The rapper even performed on the bar at the Standard Hotel venue (read: not a standard hotel at all).
There's not a whole lot about the Met Gala that regular folk can relate to, but this post-event snap from Joe Jonas is perhaps the exception.
