NEW YORK (AFP) - It is the most prestigious invitation in the celebrity world - and, on Wednesday, Amal Clooney, Rihanna and Donatella Versace were named co-chairs of next year's Met Gala in New York.

The event is the chief source of income for the Metropolitan Museum Of Art's Costume Institute. Tickets are said to cost US$30,000 (S$41,000) each or US$275,000 for a table.

Amal, wife of Hollywood heartthrob George Clooney, is noted as much for her fashion sense as her work as an international human rights lawyer.

Singer Rihanna is lauded for her bold style while Donatella is the Italian designer and sister of Gianni Versace.

Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour - who has single-handedly transformed the ball into the hottest ticket in town - is also co-chair of the event on May 7.

The theme is Heavenly Bodies: Fashion And The Catholic Imagination which the museum also announced is the title of next year's exhibition at The Costume Institute that will feature papal robes and accessories from the Vatican.

Designers in the exhibition will include Balenciaga, Chanel, Givenchy, Karl Lagerfeld, the Versaces and Vivienne Westwood.