It was reported earlier this month that Taylor Swift and her boyfriend Travis Kelce would be taking a pass on the Met Gala this year.
Although the move may puzzle some fans — who expected the 34-year-old pop superstar to take a victory lap after early legs of her massively profitable Eras Tour, its accompanying blockbuster concert film and her latest album, The Tortured Poets Department — Taylor is skipping the high-fashion event for a simpler reason: her conflicting tour schedule.
The 2024 Met Gala is scheduled to go forward on May 6, but Taylor is on the hook for her next international Eras Tour performance in Paris on May 9, making it nearly impossible for her to be prepared if she also attended fashion’s biggest night.
TMZ reported earlier in April that Taylor and Travis, 34, would be skipping the prestigious event, though neither have spoken about the reason for their decision to sit it out.
Taylor — who recently appeared to shut down rumors of a feud between herself and squad member Brittany Mahomes — and Travis both reportedly received individual invitations to the Met Gala, indicating that the fundraiser for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute was hoping they would grace its iconic red-carpeted stairs.
Taylor Swift and her boyfriend Travis Kelce, 34, will both be skipping the 2024 Met Gala due to her busy touring schedule; pictured in 2016 in NYC
Taylor is set to perform in Paris on May 9 as part of her Eras Tour’s European leg, while the Met gala is scheduled for May 6, meaning she would miss out on crucial rehearsals; seen in January
Although Travis doesn’t appear to have ever attended the annual event, Taylor is a six-time veteran of the fundraiser.
She likely would have had too hectic a schedule if she tried to attend the 2024 edition, as she will have rehearsal and other work to take care of ahead of her Paris performance and subsequent tour stops through her upcoming European leg.
The lovebirds will be missing out on the theme of this year’s exhibit, dubbed ‘Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion,’ which will mark the opening of a new exhibit featuring 250 items from the Costume Institute’s permanent collection.
Just as Sleeping Beauty was revived — with a kiss, according to the Brother’s Grimm version of the centuries-old fairy tale — the new collection will revive rarely seen clothing, with some items dating as far back as 400 years into the past.
Some of the oldest items are so fragile from the ravages of time and environment that they can’t be mounted upright, lest they might disintegrate, so they’ll will be kept horizontal in glass cages, just like another incapacitated fairy tale figure, Snow White, though the exhibit is focused on the easy-to-destroy items, rather than direct fairy tale connections.
Andrew Bolton, the Wendy Yu Curator of the Costume Institute, explained that 15 items of historical and aesthetic significance that have decayed too much to ever be safely worn again will be the highlights of the new exhibit.
‘These are the “Sleeping Beauties” of the title,’ he explained in an announcement.
Although the items will have to stay behind glass for their safety, the exhibit will use a variety of techniques, including centuries-old mirror tricks, animation and computer-generated effects, to bring the outfits to life.
Some of the oldest designs, which date back to the 17th century, would look right at home on many popular fairy tale figure, while the most recent outfits from this century were designed by designers Stella McCartney, Phillip Lim and Connor Ives, among others, according to Vogue.
There will be plenty of looks from the past century, including designs from Christian Dior, Hubert de Givenchy, Yves Saint Laurent and Elsa Schiaparelli.
The variety of outfits will fall into three ‘zones,’ the themes of ‘Land, Sea, and Sky,’ which will reportedly draw a connection between the clothing and the natural world.
The dress code for Met Gala attendees was also announced as ‘The Garden of Time,’ which was inspired by a 1962 short story of the same name by the acclaimed English writer J. G. Ballard.
In the story, a count and countess living in a fantasy kingdom protect their utopian world by plucking flowers from their garden, which set back time and delay the arrival of a violent mob seeking to destroy their kingdom. However, they have to pluck flowers faster than they can be replaced, so their efforts are eventually in vain.
TMZ reported that both Taylor and Travis had received individual invitations, but he will not be attending on his won; pictured in October in NYC
The event hasn’t been a major priority for Taylor in recent years, as she last attended the Met Gala in 2016; pictured at the 2010 edition
The hitmaker is flying high after her successful first part of the Eras Tour, an accompanying concert film, and her new album, The Tortured Poets Department
The co-chairs for the 2024 Met Gala will be an all-star quartet of Challengers star Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez, Bad Bunny and Thor star Chris Hemsworth.
Although Taylor will be missing out on the all-star event, it may not be a huge loss for her, as she has not chosen to attended the event since making a splash with her platinum blond bob in 2016.
That marked the sixth time she had attended the annual event, which may have lost some luster for her over the years.
After Taylor and her boyfriend Travis partied in Vegas with Patrick and Brittany Mahomes over the weekend, the two are reportedly set for another trip this upcoming weekend with Patrick and Brittany to the Miami Grand Prix.