Five rules celebs must follow at the Met Gala revealed

As the 2023 Met Gala is set to take place in a few hours, here are some very strict rules guests must follow if they want to be invited back.

On May 1, the annual fashion affair will take place at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in celebration of the Costume Institute's forthcoming exhibition: Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty.

The star-studded soirée will also pay tribute to the designer - who was known as the creative director of the French fashion house Chanel (a position he held until his death) - through the dress code: "In honor of Karl."

The co-chairs of the event - Dua Lipa, Michaela Coel, Penélope Cruz, and Roger Federer - will join fashion icon Anna Wintour, the person in charge of selecting every guest.

Blake Lively never fails on the brief. Credit: Everett Collection Inc / Alamy

Just like every other prestigious affair, there are specific guidelines that visitors are expected to follow if they want to stay in Wintour's good books. Here are some of the strict rules.

Number one: No selfies.

The first regulation is that stars aren't allowed to take selfies of themselves. While this may seem odd as celebrities would want to remember the special event, it was reported in 2015 that the ban came in order to limit phone usage during the evening.

"The use of phones for photography and social media will not be permitted inside the gala," a notice sent to all guests stated, according to The Independent.

However, that doesn't stop them from taking some snaps.

Number two: Age restriction.

Another rule in that there is a new age restriction - meaning celebrities under the age of 18 aren't allowed to attend the event.

This was first implemented back in 2018, with that year's theme being "Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination." A spokesperson for the event confirmed that the choice had been made because "it's not an appropriate event for people under 18".

Then-16-year-old dancer Maddie Ziegler further verified that as she told The Hollywood Reporter that same year that she wasn't allowed to go because she wasn't "old enough".

Number three: No smoking allowed. 

Thirdly, no smoking is allowed at the event. This came after Bella Hadid, Dakota Johnson, and Marc Jacobs were pictured smoking in the bathrooms at the 2017 event.

It was reported that board members had expressed their disappointment over this, with one saying it was "disrespectful to the art collection," as cited by the outlet.

According to Page Six, guests at the 2018 Met Gala were told once again that it was "illegal to smoke in the museum," following complaints.

Number four: No bad breath

Following the red carpet, celebrities are treated to a cocktail hour and a formal dinner. There are certain foods that are purposely excluded from the menu at the request of the Vogue Editor in Chief.

According to The New York Post, these items include onion and garlic to prevent bad breath, and parsley so that nobody gets pictured with green stuck in their teeth. Other dishes that could easily spill onto dresses are omitted too.

Couples are never seated next to each other. Credit: Francis Specker / Alamy Number five: Seating arrangements

Lastly, seating plans are strictly maintained at this event. According to the 2016 documentary The First Monday in May, lots of planning goes into the occasion.

The director of special projects at Vogue, Sylvana Ward Durrett, explained that a lot of "power-brokering" goes on, adding: "A lot of thought goes into who sits next to who, if they sat together last year if they've sat next to each other at other events, so much goes into it, it's shocking," per E-News.

The director revealed that couples are never seated next to each other, stating: "The whole point of these things is to meet new people and to be interested in what others are doing. What's the point if you come here to hang out with your husband?"

Featured image credit: Doug Peters / Alamy