Fashion fans and pop culture enthusiasts, the 2024 Met Gala officially has a theme (“The Garden of Time”) and co-chairs. The event, which celebrity culture and art meet, is held with the purpose of raising funds for the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and it’s considered one of the most prestigious affairs of the year.

Considered the “Oscars of Fashion,” the Gala is typically held the first Monday of May. Every year, the attendees must dress according to a theme, which usually collides with the exhibition at the Museum. Whether they adhere to the theme or not is something that fashion experts and social media enthusiasts will discuss.

While everyone would like to walk the famous Met stairs for the Gala, the guest list is carefully curated by American Vogue editor in chief, Anna Wintour. However, some celebs also have the honor of being co-chairs of the event. Here’s all you need to know about the 2024 edition.

When is the Met Gala 2024?

The 2024 Met Gala will take place May 6, which is the first Monday of the month. The exhibit will be open to the public from May 10 to Sept. 2, 2024. The only exception to the rule was the 2021 edition, which took place in September due to the pandemic.

The Garden of Time: What does the 2024 Met Gala theme mean?

This year, the Gala welcomed guests to the exhibition “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion.” According to Vogue, the collection celebrates “clothing and fashion so fragile that it can’t ever be worn again—and are thus sleeping beauties in the scrupulous archives of the Costume Institute.”

Natalie Portman wears a recreation of Dior’s Junon dress, which are part of the Met exhibition “Sleeping Beauties” (Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

Meanwhile, “The Garden of Time” part of the theme comes from the short story of the same title by J.G. Ballard in 1962. The story follows two aristocrats, Count Axel and his wife, surrounded in an exquisite castle garden by an advancing mob. To stop the danger, the Count must pluck a time-reversing flower and they are safe another day. However, when they run out, the mob finally enters the castle, and they find a statue of a man and a woman in the garden.

Regarding the several interpretations of the story, we can agree that the themes are clear: time, nature, and decay. Per Vogue, the interpretation of the themes can go from the literal theme of a “garden” (think, floral) or going with more nuanced designs that explore time and nature (after all, the exhibition is divided into Land, Sea and Sky). Other garments that could fit the theme nicely might include recreations of the archival designs that will be featured in the exhibition.

Who are the co-chairs of the Met Gala?

The 2024 Met Gala co-chairs are big A-listers and known-fashion lovers (at least, three of them): Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez, Bad Bunny and Chris Hemsworth. While this will be the first Met Gala for the ‘Thor’ actor, the first three names have been seen at the event before.

L-R: Bad Bunny, Zendaya, Chris Hemsworth and Jennifer Lopez (Jamie McCarthy/Neilson Barnard/Sebastian Reuter/Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)

For Lopez, it would be her 13th gala, while Zendaya will attend for a fifth time after making her debut in 2015. It will be the third gala for Bad Bunny, who was also present at last year’s event.

Are other celebrities confirmed to attend the event?

As we said before, the Met Gala‘s guest list is curated by Wintour herself. However, besides the co-chairs, attendees usually keep it a secret until the day of the event. Some celebrities that are almost always in the mix are Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds, Rihanna, the Kardashian clan and more.