Meghan Markle is missing the Coronation. Will she have her own at the Met Gala?

The Duchess may follow in the rebellious footsteps of her mother-in-law at the Met Gala.

There are whispers that Meghan Markle may attend the gala this year. Picture: AFP

Some events are locked in on our collective calendars.

The race that stops the nation: the first Tuesday of November.

The board meeting that makes the aforementioned nation, Reserve Bank governor (and Treasurer) nervous: the first Tuesday of the month.

But one event is now making the world pause to peruse celebrities walking up a set of stairs. And that happens on the first Monday in May for the annual Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute gala. Or the Met Gala as it has become known.

What started as an exclusive dinner costing $US50 a head back in 1948, has morphed into the Oscars of fashion where tickets cost about $US30,000 ($45,000) each and one must be invited to attend.

The event, the creation of legendary publicist Eleanor Lambert, is considered “fashion’s biggest night out”, according to Vogue, and is a major fundraiser for the fashion wings of New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Designer Jeremy Scott and Madonna attend the Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Art Of The In-Between Costume Institute Gala at Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2017. Picture: Getty Images

Every year is themed in accordance with the corresponding exhibition, on Tuesday in Australia, Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty will open and the world’s biggest stars will honour the late designer who helmed many fashion houses including Chanel and Fendi.

Lagerfeld died in 2019, aged 85. The German-born designer also worked for brands such as Balmain and Chloe.

“He created a new kind of designer: the shape-shifter. That is to say, he was the creative force who lands at the top of a heritage brand and reinvents it by identifying its sartorial semiology and then pulls it into the present with a healthy dose of disrespect and a dollop of pop culture,” his obituary in the New York Times read.

He was also famous for his love of Diet Coke and his own unique look – a white ponytail, fingerless leather gloves and sunglasses at all times. Lagerfeld was infamous for his candid opinions on everything from gay marriage, #MeToo, refugees, obesity and even Michelle Obama’s fringe (which he didn’t “understand”)

There were calls to boycott this year’s event from online activists and celebrities including actor Jameela Jamil.

Instagram cared. For a moment. But the movement is yet to transition from the keyboard into reality.

Anna Wintour has presided over the Met Gala and its guest list since 1995 and installs celebrity co-chairs every year.

This year singer the line up includes Dua Lipa, actor Penelope Cruz, tennis legend Roger Federer and Michaela Coel, writer and star of the acclaimed HBO series I May Destroy You. The 600 attendees are a mix of legitimate influencers – veterans include Madonna and Sarah-Jessica Parker, who always dress according to the theme – and those who are creating a buzz, including the entire Kardashian family and YouTube sensations like Emma Chamberlain.

Over the years it has seen Hollywood royalty rub shoulders with legitimate royals. Charlotte and Andrea Cashiraghi from the Monaco royal family are regulars and have close ties to the Chanel brand attending, and sometimes, starring in fashion shows.

Princess Beatrice – daughter of Prince Andrew – was invited in 2018.

Princess Diana famously made her Met Gala debut in 1996 – just after her divorce from the then Prince of Wales – wearing a lingerie inspired silk slip dress by John Galliano.

There are whispers that her daughter-in-law Meghan Markle may attend the gala this year. Given she will not be travelling to London with Prince Harry to participate in the Coronation of King Charles.

The duchess has ties with Vogue, guest editing a British Vogue issue. Sources say it’s unlikely Wintour would “go there but …”

The Met Gala is considered a calling card for those seeking cultural cachet and creating media moments.

For years Kim Kardashian was absent from the steps. She made the cut in 2013 just prior to gracing the cover of Vogue for the first time.

Last year she made headlines for losing a dramatic amount of weight to wear a dress that belonged to Marilyn Monroe. She has recently travelled to Paris to prepare for this year’s event by visiting Lagerfeld’s home, office and his cat, Choupette, to “get a little inspiration for the Met”.

Politics is never far away and has become closer to the red carpet action in recent years.

Many elected officials from New York are welcomed as “guests of the museum” and don’t pay to attend. US ambassador to Australia Caroline Kennedy – herself a former honorary chair of the gala – and Hillary Clinton have attended numerous times. So has former US president Donald Trump with his wife, Melania, and daughter Ivanka, albeit before he entered the political fray.

In 2021 Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez caused a stir when she arrived wearing a custom-made white dress with the message “tax the rich” emblazoned in red across her back.

This year’s theme “in honour of Karl” will be interpreted by guests in three ways, according to Vogue.

An archival outfit from the historic fashion houses he led, wearing something contemporary from those labels, especially Chanel – where he was creative director for three decades – or dressing like the man himself.

Much like you can’t pick a winner at the Melbourne Cup, it’s odds-on that at least one celebrity will dress like Choupette the cat. The fashionable feline whose eyes inspired Lagerfeld to create a colour palette.