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It's once again time for the Met Gala, fashion's fanciest night out. Before Racked's Met Ball live blog kicks off, here's a quick refresher on the important details you need to know this morning:
When is this happening and what time does it start? The Met Ball is scheduled for May 4 (today), and according to the Met Museum's Twitter account, celebs will start arriving at 6 p.m. sharp. Although there are bound to be some late arrivals, as a fundraiser for President Obama is happening nearby and is expected to snarl traffic.
@clest_KS Red carpet arrivals will begin at 6:00 p.m. #MetGala
— metmuseum (@metmuseum) May 4, 2015
What's the theme this year? The spring 2015 Costume Institute exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art is dedicated to Chinese fashion, and that's the theme for this year's gala. The exhibit is called "China: Through the Looking Glass," and it showcases Chinese art and rare artifacts as well as dresses interpreting Chinese designs from Western designers like John Galliano, Alexander McQueen, Jean Paul Gaultier, and Tom Ford. The gala can be notoriously tricky to dress for, but fears about cultural appropriation are running high for this particular event.
How are critics reacting to the Met's "China: Through the Looking Glass" exhibit? Despite initial hesitations, Racked's reviewers loved the sprawling exhibit, which is possibly the biggest the Met has put together. Julia Rubin writes, "We walked in super skeptical and left really impressed. This was a thoughtful, beautiful, and yes, respectful show."
Who's hosting? Silas Chou is this year's host of the $25,000-a-ticket affair, while Jennifer Lawrence, Gong Li, Marissa Mayer, Wendi Murdoch, and Anna Wintour will all serve co-chairs. Make no mistake though, this is Anna Wintour's party.
Who are the stars on the guest list? The Fashion Law has published the guest list. Celebrities expected to be in attendance include the following: Rihanna, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, Julianne Moore, Katy Perry, Seth Meyers, James Corden, Harvey Weinstein, Jessica Chastain, Bradley Cooper, Benedict Cumberbatch, Claire Danes, Hugh Dancy, Colin Firth, Livia Firth, Neil Patrick Harris, Anne Hathaway, Ethan Hawke, Dakota Johnson, Spike Jonze, Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds, Baz Luhrmann, Sienna Miller, Carey Mulligan, Marcus Mumford, Rita Ora, Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick, Eddie Redmayne, Amanda Seyfried, Ivanka Trump, Florence Welch, Allison Williams, Reese Witherspoon.
The full list of designers is: Christopher Bailey, Tory Burch, Sarah Burton, Georgina Chapman, Kenneth Cole, Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli, Peter Copping, Francisco Costa, Domenico Dolce, Stefano Gabbana, Alber Elbaz, Alberta Ferretti, Tom Ford, Valentino Garavani, Nicolas Ghesquiere, Lazaro Hernandez, Carolina Herrera, Dee and Tommy Hilfiger, Marc Jacobs, Donna Karan, Michael Kors, Karl Lagerfeld, Derek Lam, Ralph Lauren, Jenna Lyons, Stella McCartney, Alasdhair Willis, Jack McCollough, Tamara Mellon, Gilles Mendel, Marcus Wainwright, Ashley Olsen, Mary-Kate Olsen, Thakoon Panichgul, Zac Posen, Miuccia Prada, Raf Simons, Riccardo Tisci, Giambattista Valli, Dries Van Noten, Donatella Versace, Diane von Furstenberg, Alexander Wang, Vera Wang, David Neville, Jason Wu, and Stuart Vevers.
And, finally, in blogger news, the Blonde Salad's Chiara Ferragni announced on Instagram that she'll be there too.
Don't expect a flood of selfies from any of the stars in attendance: Met Ball organizers are trying to enforce a social media ban inside the gala. But Vogue is putting together a behind-the-scenes documentary about this year's ball and the making of the exhibit.
Will Karl Lagerfeld be there? There's a bit of a calendar clash, since Chanel is hosting its cruise show in Seoul today as well. But Fashionista reports that he's on the guest list.
Will there be a live stream? Instead of a live stream, the Met will be streaming "selected moments" on Periscope.
Tonight, we'll be live streaming select moments from the #MetGala on #Periscope! Follow us (@metmuseum)! pic.twitter.com/2s0xhIJEvu
— metmuseum (@metmuseum) May 4, 2015
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