The Met Gala is known for its strict policies, from not allowing phones or smoking to banning certain people from attending, and that meticulous planning seemingly extends to what is served at dinner.

Attendees at the Met Gala not only get to show off their eye-popping looks while walking the red carpet for fashion's biggest night, but they also sit down for an extravagant meal once they arrive inside after the trek up the iconic set of stairs. However, there are certain foods that have been noticeably absent from the menu, per Cosmopolitan. Vogue's former editor-in-chief Anna Wintour reportedly banned chives, onions and garlic, all of which are known to be detrimental to one's breath.

Her reasoning?

While speaking to Jenna Bush Hager on Today ahead of the Met Gala in 2024, she explained, "Well, those are three things I'm not particularly fond of."

As for the exclusive event's no-phone policy, Wintour noted that it is a benefit for the dinner and the event as a whole as it helps keep guests engaged in the moment rather than staying glued to their phones. This includes the Gala's no-selfie rule, one that consistently gets broken and results in epic snaps.

"It's often wonderful to hear, after dinner, people say, 'Oh we had the most wonderful conversations,'" she said. "So that's the idea, that life can exist without a picture on your cell phone."

The theme for the 2026 Met Gala is "Costume Art," coinciding with the Costume Institute's spring 2026 exhibition, which "explores depictions of the dressed body across The Met's vast collection, pairing garments with artworks to reveal the inherent relationship between clothing and the body," according to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Guests are invited to follow the dress code "Fashion is Art," which The Met stated allows them to "express their own relationship to fashion as an embodied art form and celebrate the countless depictions of the dressed body throughout art history."

Alongside Wintour, this year's event, which is a charity event and fundraiser for the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute, is co-chaired by Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman and Venus Williams.

Jeff Stevens

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