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It’s normally the most glamorous night in the New York City calendar. But some insiders are griping that the Met Gala — scheduled for Sept. 13 — is starting to lose its luster.
“I’ve been told that a lot of influencers are on the guest list,” one celebrity agent, whose clients have been regulars at the affair in the past, told The Post. “I’ve heard that Facebook and Instagram have taken so many tables, and that’s put a lot of people off going, alongside the mask mandate.”
A publicist with A-list clients added: “Personally, I don’t think the Met is cool anymore … It’s gone from super prestigious to [being] full of influencers.”
Because of COVID restrictions, lead organizer and Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour has had to slash the guest from 600 to 450, The Post is told.
Among the rumored newcomers is Addison Rae, a 20-year-old social-media star turned singer who boasts 82.5 million followers on TikTok and 38.6 million on Instagram. YouTuber Emma Chamberlain, who is 20 and dropped out of high school to vlog about her life for her 10.5 million subscribers, is also reportedly on the guest list.
Representatives for Vogue declined to comment.
This year’s focus is on supporting young talent, so guests will skew younger, sources told The Post. “Any of the old guard who are complaining simply didn’t get invited — it’s just sour grapes,” said a fashion insider with knowledge of the event.
“I think the big actors and the big fashionistas will come next year, when it returns in May,” said the agent. “I also don’t think a lot of people feel like dressing up in ridiculously expensive outfits and putting on a mask for this.”
Beyoncé and Kim Kardashian — along with newly minted Olympic medallist Allyson Felix — will reportedly grace the red carpet at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, but many of the gala’s usual power players won’t be there.
Sources told The Post that Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen are MIA, as Brady will be in training with the Buccaneers. And while Met vet Sarah Jessica Parker is in town, filming her “Sex and the City” revival “And Just like That… ,” she may be too busy attend, her usual date Andy Cohen revealed this week.
Jennifer Lopez is poised to give the ball a dollop of pizazz, but Hollywood sources say beau Ben Affleck is filming two movies — “Hypnotic” and “The Flash” — that will likely hamper what many hoped would be the reunited couple’s first big public appearance.
And a swath of European designers, who usually appear alongside the stars they have dressed, possibly won’t be at the gala either — some of them can’t get into the country amid the US’ strict COVID guidelines, and the party’s date clashes with the beginning of London Fashion Week.
There’s also the issue that past Met Gala guests, like Saoirse Ronan, Kate Moss and Salma Hayek live in countries whose residents are banned from entering the US (though there are some waivers).
A fashion source said that many who might usually have attended are nervous about coming to an event in such an intimate setting right now.
The celebrity agent said that a client had declined to RSVP for the Met Gala because of COVID fears.
I don’t think the Met [Gala] is cool anymore . . . it’s gone from super prestigious to [being] full of influencers.
“I do feel that we thought we would be back to normal, but now with the Delta variant why would you want to do this?” the agent said. “We’re still in a pandemic, it’s not getting better and [the party is held in] a very enclosed space.”
Organizers have announced that all guests will have to show proof of vaccination and wear a mask inside the event, except for when dining on the plant-based feast overseen by Red Rooster chef Marcus Samuelsson.
“Everyone needs to be vaccinated. No excuses for anyone. Whoever is attending needs to show proof of vaccinations,” said an industry source. “Staff and crew also have to be vaccinated. They are not taking any chances.”
The fashion source expects that some guests are having fabulous party masks designed to match their dresses.
This year’s theme, “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion,” is inspiring an exhibit at the Met’s Costume Institute — with one part launching Sept. 18 and the other in the spring — that explores modern American styles as well as issues of equity, diversity and inclusion.
The co-hosts are all 25 and under: Singer Billie Eilish, actor Timothée Chalamet, tennis champ Naomi Osaka and poet Amanda Gorman, who shot to fame after her performance at Joe Biden’s January inauguration. Wintour, designer Tom Ford and Instagram head Adam Mosseri will serve as honorary chairs.
Facebook and Instagram are sponsoring the event this year.
Among those rumored to be attending, The Post is told, are tennis superstar Venus Williams; singers Shawn Mendes, Rosalía and Lorde, “Saturday Night Live” star Chloe Fineman — and Mayor Bill de Blasio, who has long been invited but never shown up before.
British Formula 1 champion driver Sir Lewis Hamilton is said to have bought a table, which he will fill with black designers and athletes.
Tables start at $200,000, and individual tickets are $35,000 — once you are invited, of course.
To echo the youthful theme, designers Michael Kors, Tom Ford, Tory Burch and Tommy Hilfiger are inviting young designers who can’t afford to buy tickets to sit at their tables.
The gala is the Costume Institute’s main source of fund-raising, and a smaller guest list combined with nervousness about the pandemic — not to mention the fact that it was canceled last year — put even more pressure on Wintour to pull out all the stops.
Sources who know the Vogue editor-in-chief say she is committed to the event as a way to show the world that NYC — and New York Fashion Week, which dovetails with the gala — is still going.
After the gala was canceled last year, guests were invited to donate to the Costume Institute, but it seems that many had taken a financial hit after the fashion and entertainment industries were hobbled by the pandemic, one source in the know told The Post.
It’s also important to Samuelsson, who put together a diverse group of 10 chefs with international backgrounds — including locals Junghyun Park of Atoboy, Erik Ramirez of Llama Inn and Nasim Alikhani of Sofreh.
“We want to tell the world that we’re back — New York City as a place to gather and celebrate is back,” Samuellson has said of the event. “We’re telling both New Yorkers and outsiders that New York is open for business.”
Wintour has already had to change the date of the ball — famously held on the first Monday in May — due to the pandemic, and is loath to cancel it again given how much the Costume Institute would lose in fundraising.
Organizers are now “hoping for the best and preparing for the worst,” said the fashion source. “It’s out of everyone’s control … but if they have to cancel again, then that’s two years without any money for the Costume Institute.
“They are staying positive. It’s one foot in front of the other and everyone is hoping things will get better and not worse.”
But with the 2022 Met Gala only nine months away, Wintour & Co. might need to focus on another crisis: Keeping the old guard interested while still drawing in a younger generation.
“It’s all about timing,” said the celebrity agent, acknowledging that this year’s bash feels like a one-off oddity. “I know they need the money, but I think you will definitely see a return to form next year.”
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