UPPER EAST SIDE, Manhattan — Fashion's biggest night is underway at the Met Gala on the Upper East Side as the stars start arriving.
Movie stars, models, billionaires, fashion designers, recording artists and even politicians will all appear on the red carpet to raise money for charity – as much as $20 million or more.
Follow live updates:
Dua Lipa is very special
Met Gala co-chair Dua Lipa wore a Tiffany diamond around her neck which she called “very special” and she hoped it would sparkle for the night. The singer's cream-colored dress, by Chanel from 1992, is also “very, very special” as the one on her mood board, she says. Claudia Schiffer wore the dress on the runway for her debut, though hers had a hat to match.
Anna Wintour arrives
Wintour arrived at the Met Gala escorted by actor Bill Nighy.
Karl Lagerfeld was “a really nice person,” Anna Wintour — editor-in-chief of Vogue and host and mastermind behind the gala — said when asked what people misunderstood about the late designer.
He also said he hoped “he would understand how many people love and respect him.”
This year's theme
Every Met Gala has a theme, and this year it's honoring the late Karl Lagerfeld – a prolific designer for Chanel and other brands.
The Met Gala is often all about the bold and the beautiful, but this year with a Lagerfeld-related theme, expect some boundaries.
“This is basically the Met's way of giving back a little bit to what the Met was, it's about fashion, it's about celebrating heritage and history,” said WWD Style Director Alex Badia.
What are the benefits
The gala raised money for the Costume Institute at the Met and highlighted a new exhibit at the museum.
The late Lagerfeld will be celebrated in “A Line of Beauty” with gala organizer Anna Wintour writing that the event is a tribute to life itself and celebration in its purest form.
Attendance at the event was by invitation only and the ticket prices were much higher this year.
“Yeah, $50,000 for a ticket, $300,000 for a table… that's not a dime, say it,” said Badia.
Badia said he expected the list of faults to be skewed towards tradition.
Who will be attending?
“They're also centered on old-school celebrities,” he says.
“Nicole Kidman, you have Penelope Cruz, you have old school names present.”
But that doesn't mean there isn't room for reality stars. Last year, Kim Kardashian wore the same dress that Marilyn Monroe wore when she sang the famous “Happy Birthday” to President John F. Kennedy.
This year he is visiting Paris to pay with Lagerfeld's beloved cat, Choupette.
“Choupette became synonymous with Karl Lagerfeld,” says Badia. “They are together everywhere.”
That adds up to a great reason for the stars to really shine.
WATCH | VIDEO: A look at the evolution of the Met Gala: