Raul Balvidares

Today is the Met Gala. Here are some things to keep in mind while engaging in Met Gala discourse: — The Met Gala is a fundraising event that supports the Metropolitan Museum’s Costume Institute. — The Costume Institute preserves historical garments, curates public exhibitions, and educates people on how clothing reflects and shapes culture. — In a political climate when public arts funding is being limited or contested, private fundraising efforts like this are even more important. — Many organizations hold galas to raise money for their missions. This includes organizations focused on the arts, LGBTQ+ rights, environmental justice, and medical research. The Met is not the only institution that holds galas. — The Met Gala raises money through ticket sales. Major fashion houses such as Gucci often purchase entire tables and invite celebrities to attend the event in their designs. For brands, this functions as a form of marketing, similar to advertising or runway shows. But here, that spending also helps fund a public cultural institution. — Members of the public can later visit the museum and see exhibitions that contextualize fashion as part of cultural history. And their tickets are relatively affordable because they have been subsidized by these fundraisers. — Not all clothing is meant to be practical or "presentable" by conventional standards. Some garments are made as artistic statements. Even if you wouldn’t wear something to the office, you can still appreciate the creativity and technical craft behind it. — Events like this provide work for countless tailors, embroiderers, textile specialists, and artisans. These people often work on other types of cultural productions, such as the costuming for films, theatre, and TV shows. The Met Gala helps sustain these craft industries and thus keeps the production quality high for the areas of culture you care about. — Traditional black tie is never wrong for a gala. In fact, this is how men traditionally dressed for the Met Gala for much of this event's history. Not everyone has the personality to pull off an avant-garde outfit, so they shouldn't be forced into one.