The British Museum is set to launch its own version of the Met Gala bringing ‘fashion world’s biggest night’ in New York to London.
Invitations have already been sent out to star-studded guests for the event which is understood to be taking place next month on October 18.
Director Nicholas Cullinan hopes the function will become a highlight in the capital’s social calendar with elites in the entertainment, business, political and sporting worlds expected to attend, The Times reports.
It comes as this year’s Met Gala in New York in May raised $31million – the highest amount in its 77-year history.
Typically, the event sees guests dress to impress as they are invited to wear outrageous outfits and give an equally over-the-top amount of money to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where the event is held.
The British Museum has been working with luxury brands to bring the upcoming event to life, which will take place at London’s Frieze art fair.
Vogue is normally heavily involved in creating a theme for the US Met Gala, typically livestreamed on digital platforms like YouTube and Vogue.com.
The guest list for this year amounted to around 450 high-profile people from tech, sports, art, entertainment and more and the monetary value of publicity generated for branded from the evening was calculated to be even greater than the Super Bowl.
Kim Kardashian attends the 2025 Met Gala Celebrating “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” at Metropolitan Museum of Art
US model Gigi Hadid arrives for the 2025 Met Gala on May 5 in New York. This year’s event raised $31million
Two years ago the British Museum said it was in need of vast sums of money for a new £1billion redevelopment to create new visitor facilities and overhaul old infrastructure (file image)
Speaking on London’s upcoming event, Helen Brocklebank, the chief executive of Walpole, a body that represents 250 luxury brands and who is on a committee organising the ball, said: ‘Think Met Gala ambition with UK uniqueness.’
It is unclear how much money the British Museum is asking from its guests for the invitation-only ball.
Two years ago the museum said it was in need of vast sums of money for a new £1billion redevelopment to create new visitor facilities and overhaul old infrastructure.
Bosses cited this as the reason it had agreed to a £50million, ten-year sponsorship deal with BP which had proved controversial as other cultural venues – including the National Portrait Gallery – ended partnerships with fossil fuel companies.
And earlier this month the National Gallery revealed it had received two separate £150million donations – described as the two largest single monetary donations to a museum anywhere in the world – which its director Sir Gabriele Finaldi said were ‘of a different order to anything we’ve seen before’.
At the existing New York Met Gala tables for 10 start at $350,000 and individual tickets cost £75,000 dollars – a figure that has tripled over the past decade.
The lead sponsor at this year’s event was Louis Vuitton.
Zendaya attends the 2025 Met Gala. The existing New York Met Gala tables for 10 start at $350,000 and individual tickets cost £75,000 dollars – a figure that has tripled over the past decade
It is understood the British Museum confirmed its plans for the event – which would ‘celebrate the London cultural scene’ – on Friday night but told the Times money raised would help to fund ‘international partnerships’ rather than be used for redevelopment.
The museum has previously emphasised partnerships with bodies in Ghana and Armenia as well as archaeological excavations in Iraq and Benin City that it works on.
It is also expected to help bring the Bayeux Tapestry to Britain from France.
