The one key Met Gala rule celebrities cannot break or they won’t be invited back

As the Met Gala is undeniably the biggest evening in the fashion calendar you’d expect there to be some rules in play to make sure things go smoothly.

The annual event, held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, is curated by Vogue’s editor-in-chief Anna Wintour and usually hosts around 600 famous faces.

This year’s event is being co-chaired by Challengers star Zendaya alongside Jennifer Lopez, Marvel’s Chris Hemsworth and singer Bad Bunny.

Loewe creative director Jonathan Anderson and TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew have also been appointed as honorary chairs.

All are expected to attend the Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion-themed celebration in New York City on Monday (6 May).

So, how exactly does Anna and Met curator Andrew Bolton keep a plethora of high-profile celebrities in line?

Ahead of the 2023 Met Gala, both powerhouses sat down with CBS Mornings and revealed two main rules that are put in play for the event.

The first rule that guests must adhere to is not smoking.

The second was that they had to keep their paws off the artwork and exhibitions at all costs.

If any celebrity is caught participating in either activity then it is likely their invite to the following Met Gala will be lost in the post.

Opening up about the regulations, Andrew said: “Smoking in the galleries. Touching the artwork. Those would be no-nos.”

When asked about the smoking rule, the curator confirmed that famous faces have previously been caught lighting up in the restrooms.

Elsewhere in the interview, Anna revealed that there is no real way to make sure you’re invited to the fashion event.

“Honestly, it depends on the year, it depends on the subject of the exhibition. Really, there’s no clear answer to that.”

Interestingly, no smoking and not touching the exhibitions aren’t the only rules the pair enforce.

What will get you banned from the #MetGala? Anna Wintour and Andrew Bolton tell @GayleKing the behavior they watch out for on fashion’s biggest night — including “smoking in the galleries.” https://t.co/VXcII1gZdj pic.twitter.com/GPJkGjdR0G

— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) May 1, 2023

No selfies allowed

As per The Independent, Anna has placed a ban on celebs using their mobiles to take selfies and upload pictures to social media.

However, this has of course been broken on numerous occasions by celebrities such as Kylie Jenner and Billie Eilish.

You have to be a certain age to attend

For the 2018 event, themed around Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination, an age restriction was brought in.

A Met Gala spokesperson later said the event was ‘not appropriate’ for anyone under the age of 18.

There’s a strict seating plan to adhere to

Met Gala planner Eaddy Kiernan has previously spoken about the seating chart and revealed how strict it really is.

“We start with a seating document when the names come together in December,” she told Vogue.

Sylvana Ward Durrett, director of special projects at Vogue, said in the 2016 documentary The First Monday in May: "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."

And if you’re thinking about attending the Met Gala with your spouse, partner or significant other then you’ll probably not spend much time with them.

Author Amy Odell has previously stated that Anna believes networking with people you don’t know ‘leads to a better and more interesting party'.