Inside the Met Gala: A fairytale forest, woodland creatures and star-struck first-time attendees

NEW YORK (AP) – Strolling through the hallways of the Metropolitan Museum of Art on his way to get a cocktail, James Corden comically spread his arms as if he owned the place. “If you want me to talk about this, please tell me,” he said, pointing to the priceless art on the wall, as Jeff Bezos and his partner Lauren Sanchez happened to be walking behind him. I said jokingly.

It was all fun, but Corden, like many celebrities, met gala usually.

Then there are those who are doing it for the first time. These guests, no matter how famous they are in their field, express starry amazement at the concentration of celebrities around them, and even profess some nervousness, like kids arriving at a new school. This often happens.

Example: Stray Kids. The K-pop band arrived en masse at their first gala, with all eight members wearing different outfits in red, navy, and white by designer Tommy Hilfiger. Once inside the museum, they said, they went up the grand staircase, took the reception line, then headed for cocktails, where they slowly began to relax.

“We were also nervous at first,” said Band No. Bang Chan. “We didn’t know what was going to happen or who we were going to meet,” added bandmate Felix. But they're settling in well and have already spoken to Chris Hemsworth, Steven Yeun and Brooklyn Nets guard Ben Simmons.

Then there was Ayo Edebiri, “The Bear” star is a multiple winner on this year's awards circuit, but it was his first time attending the gala. After greeting hosts Jennifer Lopez, Bad Bunny, Hemsworth and, as always, Vogue's Anna Wintour, who was overseeing the whole thing, on the stairs, she almost ran out of breath. .

“I’m really, really, really excited to be here,” she said. “This is another really great thing, so I'm going to try my best not to forget it.” Edebiri, wearing a lace floral dress by Loewe, one of the evening's sponsors along with TikTok, was in the museum's American wing. We went out for cocktails at the airy Charles Engelhardt Court.

There was the usual commotion on the carpet outside, but guests were slow to trickle in at first, and the reception line had little to do in the beginning (Lopez and Bad Bunny (I took a few selfies with them).

Among the early participants were Australian director Baz Luhrmann and his wife, costume designer Catherine Martin, who served as creative advisor for the evening. Both spoke enthusiastically about the gala's function as a fundraiser for the Costume Institute and its benefits to the museum as a whole. Of course, he also talked about the potential to attract young people from all over the world to the art, who Rahman pointed out are watching carpets online. Metropolitan officials said Tuesday night that Raised over $26 milliona record amount for a fundraising event.

Other memorable moments and scenes from inside the gala include:

magical forest

What is the name of the exhibit accompanying the party? “Sleeping Beauty: Awakening Fashion” It wasn't about the fairy tale Princess Aurora. Rather, it was to highlight and shine a light on the fragile garments in museum collections that are currently “awakening” to the world. Still, it's safe to say that the museum had a fairy-tale feel throughout.

Upon entering the Great Hall, guests passed a massive 32-foot-tall centerpiece representing the “Whimsical Tree.” Giant green flowers made of cloth sprout above the forest-like undergrowth with twisted branches, like the prince in Sleeping Beauty had to tear apart for true love's kiss. It looked like a leaf that wasn't there. Guests then walked through a tableau of live string orchestras and performers dressed as forest creatures in tunics and tights frolicking in the woods.

fashion as art

When given the option of admiring the exhibits or just going for a cocktail, most guests chose the latter. However, some people turned out for the show, which was a multisensory fashion experience that included not only sight, but also sound, smell, and touch. Lena Waithe took the time to inspect the clothes alone, and she said she was “just blown away by the work that I saw from her.”

The actor and producer added that, like many people, she often thinks of fashion as something fun and light. “But coming here reminded me that this is an art form,” she said. And she gave a speech Meryl Streep, as a Wintour-like character in The Devil Wears Prada, gave to Anne Hathaway about how the clothes we wear were chosen for us. I remembered. “I think we need to remember that our style is influenced by people who passed away a long time ago,” Weiss said.

Seth Meyers stays in his lane

Late-night host Myers, who attended the gala with his wife, said the evening was a nice break from raising children. But he also jokingly asked why his children, ages 8, 6 and 2, weren't invited. “I think it's very disrespectful that Vogue didn't invite them,” Myers quipped. “It's very kid-friendly here. And they're very good at keeping Mitt out of things.”

Myers said the most fun part of the gala was meeting “so many people that I'm a fan of or that I've interviewed on the show.” But when it comes to fashion, he likes to express himself straight, saying, “No one wants a guy like me to make bold moves. I stay in my lane.”

broadway audience

Wintour is a big theater fan, so the Met Gala always has a strong Broadway team in attendance. At the gala, Jonathan Groff, fresh off a Tony nomination for his role in Merrily We Roll Along, spoke with his best friend and Glee alum (and Fanny Laughed and joked with Lea Michele (star of “Girl''). Baby blue Rodarte. Groff recalled previous Met Galas he attended, including when he performed on the show “Hair” and in 2016, when guest Beyoncé had just released “Lemonade” about a week earlier. “It was amazing,” he recalled.

“Little me would be very happy.”

At a distant table sat another Broadway star, J. Harrison Gee. Guy attended his first gala last year, about a month before he won the Tony Award for Best Actor for Some Like It Hot. Guy wore a dramatic feathery look by designer Howie B that was inspired by Tobicella, which was in perfect sync with the night's nature theme. Guy said the night proved that fashion is an important and expressive art form. And they added. “Little me would be very happy. I'm always in touch with them, would they be proud? They would be.”

A dress that's better than the sum of its (broken) parts

As Sanchez and Bezos toured the exhibit, her signature dress made an equally distinctive noise as it scraped against the floor. “We won't lose you,” Bezos joked. Sanchez said the first time she tried on the eye-popping design by Oscar de la Renta's Fernando Garcia and Laura Kim, she burst into tears. Her voluminous skirt was embellished with pearl and mirror appliqués, reminiscent of Tiffany glass. “If you need a mirror, wear my dress,” Sanchez joked. She added that she felt the dress symbolized life. Everything is a little broken there, and it depends on how you treat the piece. And when she tried on a dress for Bezos, she said, with a misty look in her eyes: “Bezos said he had never seen me look so beautiful,” she said.

Fun fact: Sanchez said Garcia told her she needed items to fix her dress, so she ordered them on Amazon.

Call from Clarion to Dinner

How do you get hundreds of chatty celebrities to walk across a museum for dinner? Organizers tried a variety of methods. One year it was a team of buglers. Another year, Jon Batiste and his melodica led the band through the crowd. Last year, David Byrne took home the honor. A large choir appeared on Monday, accompanied by dancers, singing an original song titled “Future of Us.” At that moment, the bell rang and the performers shouted, “To dinner!” The crowd then slowly made their way to the temple of Dendur. There, the fairy tale motif continued, with tables equipped with “magic candlesticks intertwined with flower arrangements.”

What will you eat?

It's still fashionable to be late. Some guests were still arriving at 9pm or much later. But for those who made it at dinner time, here's what's on the menu: A main course of beef fillet, pea tortellini, morel mushrooms and spring vegetables, followed by a petit fours dessert inspired by the Brothers Grimm fairy tales. “Sleeping Beauty'' – with candy “in the shape of a custom hat.''