What Happens After the Met Gala Red Carpet? All About the Special Dinner and Musical Performances

Jane LaCroixTue, May 5, 2026 at 10:00 AM UTC

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A group photo at the 2025 Met GalaCredit: LAURA HARRIER/Instagram -

The 2026 Met Gala happened on May 4 in New York City

After guests walk the Met Gala red carpet, they enjoy a special dinner and musical performances

The annual fashion event is followed up by celebrity-hosted afterparties

The Met Gala red carpet may dominate headlines every May, but stepping inside The Metropolitan Museum of Art is where the real event begins — and it’s kept tightly under wraps.

Officially known as the Costume Institute Benefit, the annual fundraiser supports the museum’s Costume Institute and has become one of the most exclusive invitations in entertainment.

While millions watch celebrities arrive in elaborate custom looks, guests then disappear behind closed doors into an evening that’s intentionally private. Phones are discouraged, inside photography is limited and only a handful of approved pics make their way out afterward.

Still, over the years, some reports and behind-the-scenes coverage have helped piece together what really happens after the epic staircase moment.

From cocktail hour and seated dinners to surprise performances, exhibition tours and late-night afterparties across Manhattan, the fashion event is one to remember.

Here’s a look at what typically happens once stars walk off the Met Gala red carpet.

A lavish dinner and cocktails

Kwame Onwuachi attends the 2025 Met Gala on May 5, 2025 in New York CityCredit: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty

Once guests make it past the famous steps, a lavish dinner is in order, with menus designed to match the year’s theme and satisfy a room full of A-listers.

According to multiple reports, Met Gala chairwoman and former Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour has long maintained a strict approach to the food itself.

Certain ingredients — such as garlic, onion, chives, and parsley — have reportedly been avoided to prevent bad breath, food getting stuck in teeth or staining custom gowns and tuxedos. Speaking to Today in May 2024, Wintour confirmed she wasn't "particularly fond of" those ingredients.

Despite those limitations, the menus are anything but basic. According to Vogue, for the 2024 “Garden of Time” gala, caterer Olivier Cheng created a whimsical meal that included spring vegetable salad with elderflower foam and butterfly-shaped croutons, followed by beef fillet presented with a tortellini rose.

Cocktail hour is another part of the experience. In 2025, chef Kwame Onwuachi curated a menu inspired by the African diaspora, featuring cornbread with caviar and curry chicken patties before the seated meal, per Vogue.

Performances by the industry's most celebrated artists

Ariana Grande performs during the Met Gala on May 6, 2024 in New York CityCredit: Kevin Mazur/MG24/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue

Over the years, the Met Gala has featured icons — like Madonna, Rihanna, Lady Gaga and Cher — turning the museum into an ultra-exclusive concert venue.

In 2025, attendees watched Usher perform hits like “Yeah!” before Stevie Wonder took the stage for an epic set of all his classics.

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The year before, Ariana Grande delivered an elaborate 2024 performance featuring dancers, a choir and a duet with her Wicked costar Cynthia Erivo.

In 2023, Lizzo mixed classical music with pop hits, while 2022 brought sets from Kacey Musgraves and Lenny Kravitz.

Since phones are limited and cameras are scarce, many of these moments are only witnessed by the guest list itself, with a few professional shots available.

Time to explore the museum’s new exhibition

'Costume Art' exhibition for the 2026 Met Gala, photographed on April 14, 2026 in New YorkCredit: Charles Sykes/Invision/AP

Perhaps one of the most unique parts of the Met Gala is that guests get private access to the Costume Institute’s annual exhibition before it opens to the public.

The exhibition is pretty much the heart of the evening, with the gala serving as its official fundraiser and launch.

For this year's display, the event's theme is "Costume Art," a show by costume designer Michaela Stark which pairs fashion with art while introducing newly created mannequins modeled on diverse real bodies, including aging, pregnant and fuller figures.

In 2025, guests explored “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,” an exhibition examining Black dandyism, tailoring and the role of style in shaping identity. That same night, artist Cy Gavin created floral installations while his artwork was projected onto the ceiling of the Temple of Dendur, according to Vogue.

Previous years have included “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion” (2024), “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty” (2023), “In America: An Anthology of Fashion” (2022) and the edgy “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination” (2018).

Continuing the festivities by attending afterparties

Tyla at the 2025 Met Gala on May 5, 2025 in New York CityCredit: Dia Dipasupil/Getty

When the official gala winds down, the night usually keeps going. Once guests leave the museum, many head to a string of private afterparties held across Manhattan, where the dress code often shifts from museum-worthy couture to something a little less restrictive.

Over the years, some of the most buzzed-about late-night events have been hosted by names like Tyla, Doja Cat, A$AP Rocky and Emily Ratajkowski, with guest lists often rivaling the gala itself.

These gatherings typically give stars a chance to mingle and dance. Many attendees also change outfits entirely, leading to a second wave of fashion moments that often flood social media by midnight.

Because of the Met’s photo restrictions, the afterparties offer some of the only glimpses into how celebrities actually celebrate once the formal portion ends.

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