Met Gala hosted by Taylor Swift, Idris Elba promises star power

It's a fundraiser at heartbuton the outside, the annualMet Gala is one of New York City's most exclusive parties.

A who's who of fashion, music and entertainment will gather Monday toraise money forthe Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute, a collection of 35,000 pieces spanning seven centuries of fashion.

The exclusive guest list is hand-picked by VogueeditorinchiefAnna Wintour, and reads a lotlike a Forbeslist ofhighearners, mixed withsocial media's most famous and followed. It putsso many A-listers in the same room that even they themselves couldn'tresist breaking theno-selfie rule last year.

For those with the means to attend but not necessarily the brand power,tickets are$25,000 US a head.

The hosts

Wintour has been the Met Ball's official chair for more than 20 years andeach year, she chooses an honorary chair. This year, it's American singer-songwriter Taylor Swiftwho,along with British actor IdrisElba and Apple's chief design officer, Jonathan Ive, will co-chair the bash.

There's always a major musical guest as well.Last year, it was Rihanna, andBruno Mars and Kanye West haveperformed in the past. Swiftmight not be able to do doubleduty this year, but there arealways others like Beyoncor Drake to fill those shoes.

The theme

If you're on the red carpet for the Metgala, there's no playing it safe or living infear of the sartorial police.The occasion is reserved for some of the most creative andoutrageous designs, and demands the most confident and fashionably daring to sport them. Check outthe looks from last year to see how far they'll go.

This year, the theme is Manus x Machina: Fashion in an age of technology, which is also the inspiration behind the Costume Institute's current exhibition.It's customary that those attending wear outfits that reflect the theme, so expect some futuristic-inspired pieces to interpret the blurred lines between man-made and machine-made fashion.

The guests

The guestlist, whichincludes between 650 and700 people,is not public, but there are several recurring faces yeartoyear,Jennifer Lopez, Sarah Jessica Parkerand Madonna among them.A lot of the guests will spend hoursgetting ready insideNew York's swankiest hotel suites beforehand (and arelikely to post their own pre-show preparationon InstagramandSnapchat if you want to follow along).

The point

The high-profile fundraisermarksthe official opening of the Costume Institute's annual fashion exhibit, which runs for several months. The benefit gala raised $12 million in 2014 for the institute.

It can also inspire photos that will get a lot of people talking,kind of like the one below of Kim Kardashian and JLo,snapped from behind by KanyeWest at this time last year.