Met Gala 2017: Celebrities Descend On Upper East Side

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Every first Monday of May the Upper East Side plays host to what has been called the "party of the year." Celebrities and the biggest names in the fashion industry pull out all the stops for the annual Met Gala to raise money for the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute.

The Costume Institute is the only department in the museum tasked with raising its own funds, according to a New York Times report, and it seems to have itself a winning formula. Individual tickets for the event this year sold for a cool $30,000 and a table goes for $275,000.

Every year the party celebrates the Costume Institute's opening show. This year's exhibit explores the works of Japanese Designer Rei Kawakubo, according to The Met's website. The exhibit features about 150 pieces designed by Kawakubo for her fashio label, Comme des Garçons, dating from 1980 to the present, according to The Met.

But for the plebes who can't dish out $30,000 to check out an exhibit at a museum that normally doesn't charge and entrance fee — or can't snag a free invited from a high fashion designer — the main attraction is the Met Gala red carpet show. Unlike other red carpet award shows, celebrities can really let loose and experiment at The Met.

We're talking wearing your own freshly-cut dreadlocks as an accessory, dresses with enough fabric to clothe a family of four and other all-around zany looks.

Last year's Met Gala raised $13.5 million for the Costume Institute, the Times reported. This year's hosts are Anna Wintour, Tom Brady, Gisele Bündchen, Katy Perry and Pharrell Williams and the honorary chairwomen are Ms. Kawakubo and Caroline Kennedy, according to the New York Times.

Here are some fashions that are generating buzz at this year's Met Gala:

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