Met Gala 2023: How To Watch, What To Know, Who's Going

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Spring on the Upper East Side means one thing: celebrities will soon be marching up the steps to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, clad in eye-catching dresses and surrounded by swarms of photographers.

The 2023 Met Gala is happening on Monday, hosted, as always, by the Met's Costume Institute and is a fundraiser for the self-funded department (last year's gala brought in a record $17.4 million).

Here's what to know:

What's this year's theme?

The theme this year is "Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty," coinciding with the museum's upcoming fashion art exhibition of the same name. Lagerfeld, a prolific German fashion designer who spent his life creating iconic garments for his own line and big names like Balmain, Patou, Chloé, Fendi, Chanel, died in 2019.

Attendees are ordered to dress "in honor to Karl," which could mean vintage or contemporary pieces from the elite fashion houses Lagerfeld designed for.

But many in and out of the fashion world have said the choice to honor Lagerfeld is controversial because of his notoriously outlandish — and hateful — commentary on various topics, ranging from his thoughts on women larger than a size 2, immigrants, "ugly" Andy Warhol, same sex marriage and more.

At the exhibition, the Met will display over 150 of his pieces alongside his original sketches, which "underscore his complex creative process and the collaborative relationships with his premières, or head seamstresses," according to the museum. The exhibition is largely sponsored by Chanel and Fendi.

How can I watch?

Vogue magazine — whose owner, Condé Nast, sponsors the Met Gala — will be livestreaming on its website and on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter starting 6 p.m. Eastern on Monday.

Additionally, venerable red-carpet network E! will also go live from the museum steps at 6 p.m. Monday, hosted by Zanna Roberts Rassi, Zuri Hall, Jenna Lyons and Queer Eye's Jonathan Van Ness.

Who will be attending?

Many insiders hooted and hollered over the decision to raise ticket prices from the very reasonable sum of $30,000 per person to the outlandish price of $50,000, with some Met donors even hinting that they might spend Monday night elsewhere.

But if you're a top celeb, there is little reason to turn down your ticket.

This year's co-chairs will be Penélope Cruz, screenwriter Michaela Coel, Swiss tennis player Roger Federer, singer Dua Lipa, and as always, Vogue's Anna Wintour

Other rumored guests, according to The Cut, include Cara Delevingne, Pharrell Williams, Kristen Stewart, Gigi Hadid, Tilda Swinton, Helen Mirren, Magot Robbie, Nicole Kidman, Marion Cotillard, Margaret Qualley, Sofia Coppola, Paris Hilton and Pete Davidson.

What streets will be closed?

Upper East Siders can expect street closures on Fifth Avenue between East 79th and 86th streets at the discretion of the NYPD.