If there were a real life Cinderella Ball, the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute benefit is it.
However instead of poor old Cinder attending, it's considered the year 12 formal for the One Percent and New York's high society. Sort of like Skye Leckie's Gold Dinner but with more Kardashians and less philanthropy.
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Met Gala 2017: Red carpet arrivals
Cara Delevingne, Nicki Minaj and many others light up the red carpet at this year's Met Gala 2017.
Many a former guest have rubbished the annual event which is organised by Vogue's editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, who has served as chairwoman of the gala since 1995.
Like an overzealous bride, she oversees every, single detail. Approving everything from the napkins to the guest list. It was established in 1946 as a run-of-the-mill charity dinner, now it's the Oscars of the east coast in the United States.
For those granted an invite to the party like Kim Kardashian West, Reese Witherspoon and Wendi Deng, tickets start at $40,000 per person. Which is why it didn't come as a surprise to learn it's one of the biggest fundraisers in New York. The 2016 event alone raised close to $18 million for the fashion wing of the museum. However, you cannot please everyone.
Back in 2013 Gwyneth Paltrow told USA Today, "I'm never going again. It was so unfun. It was boiling. It was too crowded. I did not enjoy it at all."
She then told KIIS FM's Jackie O: "Do you want me to be honest? It sucked."
"It seems like the best thing in the world, you always think this is going to be so glamorous and amazing, and you'll see all these people - you get there, it's so hot, it's so crowded, everyone is pushing you."
![Jenni Konner and Lena Dunham.](/web/20170507021344im_/http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/w/x/7/h/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gvxcci.png/1493774826256.jpg)
What a difference four years makes.
The noted clean-eater and "clean sleeping" advocate, in Calvin Klein, went dressed as a sugared almond for her return from Met Gala exile.
Others who have publicly trashed the event like Girls creator Lena Dunham and comedian Amy Schumer also returned for the Comme des Garçons's Rei Kawakubo themed night out.
Last year Dunham, wearing a J.Crew tuxedo and sitting next to NFL star Odell Beckham Jr., suggested it should be renamed "The Metropolitan Museum of Getting Rejected by Athletes" in one of her Lenny letters.
![Amy Schumer.](/web/20170507021344im_/http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/w/z/0/g/image.related.articleLeadNarrow.300x0.gvxcci.png/1493774826256.jpg)
"The vibe was very much like, 'Do I want to f... it? Is it wearing a…yep, it's wearing a tuxedo. I'm going to go back to my cell phone.' It was like we were forced to be together, and he literally was scrolling Instagram rather than have to look at a woman in a bow tie," she said.
Schumer agreed, telling shock jock Howard Stern that attending felt like "punishment".
![Gwyneth Paltrow.](/web/20170507021344im_/http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/w/z/5/2/image.related.articleLeadNarrow.300x0.gvxcci.png/1493774826256.jpg)
"It's people doing an impression of having a conversation… I don't like the farce," she said.
"We're dressed up like a bunch of f...ing a..holes.
"I got to meet Beyoncé and she was like, 'Is this your first Met Gala?'" the comedian said. "And I was like, 'It's my last'."
Both Dunham, wearing an Elizabeth Kennedy creation, and Schumer, in Zac Posen, wore voluminous gowns this year.
No doubt to cover up the fact they strolled up The Met's famous steps with their tails between their legs.