NEW YORK. Last year, it took 275,000 hot pink roses to grace the Metropolitan Museum of Art at the Met Gala, the biggest fashion show and one of the biggest gatherings of star power in the world.

It remains to be seen how the Great Hall of the museum will be decorated on the first Monday of May, but one thing is certain: those who enter it will look spectacular. The theme is dedicated to the late designer Karl Lagerfeld, who left an indelible mark on luxury fashion during his long career at Chanel, Fendi and other companies. It’s a topic not without controversy – Lagerfeld was known for making controversial remarks about everything from #MeToo to curvy bodies.

Wondering what to expect as the big day approaches? Don’t worry. We’ve prepared our annual guide for you with some key updates.

It started in 1948 as a society midnight dinner and didn’t even exist in the Met.

Fast forward 70+ years and the Met Gala is something else entirely, one of the most photographed events in the world due to its dizzying red carpet – though the carpet isn’t always red.

We talk about Rihanna like a bejeweled dad. Zendaya in the image of Cinderella in a luminous dress. Katy Perry as a chandelier that turns into a hamburger. So: Beyoncé in her “naked dress”. Billy Porter as the Egyptian sun god being carried on a stretcher by six shirtless men. 16-minute striptease of Lady Gaga. And last year, she unveiled a Versace Blake Lively gown — a tribute to iconic New York architecture — that changed color before our eyes.

Then there’s Kim Kardashian taking commitment to a whole other level. She once wore such a tight dress that she admitted that she needed to take breathing lessons beforehand. Two years ago, she wore a dark bodysuit that even covered her face. And last year, she actually stole the carpet, showing up in a real rhinestone-embroidered Marilyn Monroe “Happy Birthday, Mr. President” dress (borrowed from the Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Museum), changing as soon as she stepped inside. to protect him. There was later controversy over the suspicion, dismissed by Ripley, that she had caused some damage. But still – it was at the entrance. (And folks, she’s back – she posted a photo from Paris with Lagerfeld’s famous cat, Choupette, noting she’s in the French capital mulling out outfit options this year.)

It’s important to note that the party has a purpose – last year the party generated $17.4 million for the Met’s Costume Institute, a self-funded department. Yes, that’s a hell of a lot for a holiday. It also launches an annual spring exhibition that draws hundreds of thousands of visitors to the museum.

But it’s the carpet itself that grabs the world’s attention, and the guest list, strategically hidden until the last minute, includes a collection of celebrities from movies, music, fashion, sports, politics, and social media that arguably provides the most celebrity power. per square meter of any party in the world.

This year’s five presenters are recruited from television (Emmy-winning writer, actor, and producer Mikaela Coel); cinema (Oscar-winning actress Penelope Cruz, who has worked with Chanel for over 20 years); sports (recently retired tennis superstar Roger Federer); and music (singer Dua Lipa, Grammy winner). Finally, there’s Vogue’s Anna Wintour (do we need to tell you she’s in fashion?), running the show as usual.

yes As mentioned above, the theme is Karl Lagerfeld, and the exhibition “Karl Lagerfeld: A line of beauty” is dedicated to “the designer’s stylistic vocabulary, expressed in aesthetic themes that appear again and again in his fashion from the 1950s to his last time.” 2019 collection. Once again, it was created by the Met’s star curator Andrew Bolton.

Not really. Some avoid it and just go big and crazy. But expect some guests to study the topic thoroughly and come to it perfectly. For example, it was hard to beat the carpet when the theme involved “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination” and Rihanna stepped in as the pope, Zendaya became the model for Joan of Arc, and Perry led the crowd through with a set of huge angel wings. For Lagerfeld, the clothes can be a little more, uh, mundane.

Wrong question. You can’t just buy a ticket. The right question is: if I were famous or influential and I was invited, how much would it cost?

Well, you don’t have to pay yourself. Usually companies buy tables. The fashion label would then accept desired celebrities. The cost has gone up this year, as it does every few years due to rising costs, with an individual ticket now costing $50,000 and tables starting at $300,000.

This year there will be about 400 guests – as in previous years, but still less than before the pandemic, a maximum of 500-600 people. Wintour and her team still approve of every guest.

Are you trying to predict? Get out a pen and write down a few of your favorite names, the louder the better. Newly minted Oscar winners, for example, are a good bet. Broadway is a particular favorite of Wintour. She also loves tennis – this isn’t Federer’s first Met Gala. Now cross everyone off your list except for the very top. At this gala concert, everyone is on the list of the best.

Not really. Ask Tina Fey. She went there in 2010 and later described walking around trying to find someone “normal” to sit and talk to. It ended up being Barbara Walters.

You can watch the whole carpet unfold on live Vogue. If you’re in New York, you can also join fans across the street, behind the barricades, on Fifth Avenue, or even further east in Madison. Timothée Chalamet has been known to greet fans.

It’s a secret. But reports do slip out, often about who won’t show up and why. You can look forward to the appearance of various celebrity Chanel ambassadors.

Upon entering the museum, guests walk past what is usually an impossibly huge floral arrangement in the lobby, where perhaps an orchestra is playing nearby, and move on to cocktails. Or they are heading to an exhibition. Cocktails are served between 6pm and 8pm, but the most famous ones – or those planning to make the biggest entrance – sometimes arrive (fashionably) later.

Around 8 p.m., guests are called in for dinner, possibly by a bugler team (“Are they going to do this between every meal?” actor Gary Oldman once asked aloud).

Sometimes someone says no. Fey, in a comic tirade to David Letterman in 2015, described the gala as a “jerk parade” and said it featured everyone you’d ever want to punch if you had millions of hands. Amy Schumer left in early 2016 and later said she felt uncomfortable and that it was “punishment”.

the wrong Schumer returned in 2017. And then again last year.

Hey, it’s the Met Gala.

Salma Hayek Pinault paired gilded glamor with a Jackie Kennedy-inspired suit for a 2023 look at the late first lady’s iconic style. At a celebration to celebrate the opening of the new Bungalow Gucci boutique in New York’s Meatpacking district over the weekend, the Oscar nominee and recent Charm cover star– brought a lot of sparkle to the ensemble in the style of the 60s.

The actor wore Gucci, of course, in a textured gold sleeveless gown with black lace trim at the neckline and hem. Hayek wore a fitted midi-length dress and a matching cropped jacket with a collar and zippers at the sleeves.

She completed the look with a silver diamond necklace and DeBeers earrings, black peep toe platform shoes and a black bag with gold hardware. As for the hairstyle, Hayek brought out the spirit of the ’60s with a fresh, shoulder-length hairstyle with big, showy curls framing her face. For makeup, she used a glamorous smoky eye with winged eyeliner, rosy cheeks and a matching pink lip.

Hayek also shared some behind-the-scenes photos of the look on her Instagram feed. In the caption, she cited Jackie O as an inspiration and mentioned her glamorous team.

TI woke up one morning with Dobie Gray singing “Sail away” My head is spinning, and there are tears in my eyes.

“Day by day I get more confused but I’m looking for light in the pouring rain… Oh give me a beat boys and free my soul, I want to get lost in your rock and roll and float away.”

I stumbled upon this song on YouTube and started listening after playing it a couple of times. Almost instantly, the words and music changed something in me. Shortly before this, I felt melancholy, but when the song started playing, I felt my mood rise, taking me from sadness to a more hopeful feeling. It’s a song I’ve loved since I was a teenager, and maybe it was the unexpected tenderness of the singer’s voice, or the longing I felt just sitting under the words, but I was touched.

More from TIME

As a researcher at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine studying how the arts help us heal, learn, and thrive, I have read thousands of studies that offer fundamental insights into how music and sound affect many parts of our brain and body. On that day, I was once again comforted by the power of music to support my mental well-being. Just listening to your favorite song can change your mood, evoking old memories. And when we remember to use this knowledge for prevention, wellness practices and interventions, it can greatly improve your daily life.

Read more: You asked: Is listening to music good for health?

The song “Drift Away” triggered a cascade of neurobiological responses, triggering increased blood flow to various areas of my brain, including the limbic system, and triggered a flood of emotions and memories. It also activated my reward system and I started to feel better. Music has a direct impact on us. He comforts us, inspires us, makes us happy, leads and directs us, confirms our feelings, and connects us to our deeply human needs and nature. Structure, rhythms, melodies, syntax, genres, lyrics, a particular instrument or even the voice of a singer speaks to us in the language of humanity..

We are in tune with the music. We bring the world into our bodies and brains through our senses. On a biological level, when I listened to “Drift Away,The music and sound activated my eardrums, which caused the fluid in my inner ear to move. The fluid bent the hairs on my cells, which were converted into nerve impulses going to my brain. These impulses traveled through the neural networks of my brain, evoking strong emotions and memories and almost instantly changing my mood and outlook.

At our core, we feel music — and now we’re closer than ever to understanding why. One of the reasons music has such an immediate impact on us is because it is quickly processed in the limbic system, the part of the brain that helps us experience emotions.

When I listened to “Drift Away”, the neurotransmitter dopamine was freed up in response to these pleasant stimuli and musical freezone happened. In other words, I had an emotional peak that caused a physical reaction. Dopamine makes us feel good, and it also helps cells communicate better, as well as improves concentration, planning, and even helps us think more clearly.

Over the past 20 years, advances in technology, including functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and positron emission tomography (PET), have allowed us to see what is in our heads and explore the extraordinary influence of art and aesthetics on us, offering opportunities to expand consciousness. for all health. Music is the most studied art form, and researchers are now beginning to understand how it ages a person. complex physiological network interconnected brain systems, including the prefrontal cortex, visual cortex, amygdala, hippocampus, auditory and sensory cortices, to name but a few.

It turns out that not only listening to music, but creating it also has significant benefits. For example, mothers sing to your children to help relieve symptoms of postpartum depression and improve communication by lowering levels of cortisol, the main stress hormone. And people with dementia sing too access to autobiographical musical memories encoded in several areas of the brain that have not been damaged by the disease. The result is a radical presence with family and friends, if only for a short time.

These are not casual music lessons or just enjoyable activities. Rather, they are deliberate, evidence-based approaches that help you heal physically and mentally, thrive and learn, and build strong cultures and communities.

Some may find it oversimplified that a song can soothe the soul. But like exercise, nutrition, and sleep, we are discovering that art is essential to our health and well-being.

connect with us emails@time.com.