Guests ascended the famous steps of the Metropolitan Museum and entered a lobby transformed to resemble an Italian garden, with a huge moon hanging from the ceiling.
Alysa Liu arrives at The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the"Costume Art" exhibition on Monday, May 4, 2026, in New York.
Connor Storrie arrives at The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the"Costume Art" exhibition on Monday, May 4, 2026, in New York. Sarah Paulson arrives at The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the"Costume Art" exhibition on Monday, May 4, 2026, in New York.
A$AP Rocky, left, and Rihanna arrive at The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the"Costume Art" exhibition on Monday, May 4, 2026, in New York. Jon Batiste, left, and Suleika Jaouad arrive at The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the"Costume Art" exhibition on Monday, May 4, 2026, in New York.
Heidi Klum arrives at The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the"Costume Art" exhibition on Monday, May 4, 2026, in New York.
– Alysa Liu surveyed the glittery crowd arrayed in front of her, sipping cocktails and chatting. It was“It’s … BIG,” the Olympic skater finally said with a grin. But what Liu, dressed in a blood-red custom Louis Vuitton gown with a full skirt and huge ruffles, couldn’t quite get was how big SHE had become. Even at a party full of very, very famous people, everyone wanted to greet her.
Some Met Gala guests have been famous for many years. Others have achieved fame with dizzying speed. For Liu, all it took was a“Everybody recognizes me! ” she said, with genuine surprise, of the crowd packed into the airy Charles Engelhard Court at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
“It’s crazy. Imagine that overnight, suddenly everyone knows who you are! ”another star of the night who also arrived from an ice rink. After guests made their way up the carpeted steps to the museum, they entered into the Great Hall, which had been transformed into “a Northern Italian garden,” in the museum’s words.
There was a huge moon hanging and swaying from the ceiling, and below it a floral centerpiece surrounded by cypress branches. A half dozen harpists serenaded the guests, who waited to shake the hands of the gala co-chairs — Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams, Vogue’s Anna Wintour, and honorary chair Lauren Sánchez Bezos — but not, for now, the late-arriving Beyoncé.
“I waited 45 minutes,” the actor said, explaining why she hadn’t made it yet to the Conde M. Nast Galleries to see the which examines the dressed body through centuries of art history. Her feet hurt.
“You could cut my legs off at the ankle,” she said. As the Engelhard court gradually filled, guests milled about snacking on lobster crostini or tomato and mozzarella “pillows. ” Zoë Kravitz, who headed the host committee, greeted Storrie — did we mention he was a top attraction? — and complimented him on his work.
Bradley Cooper and Gigi Hadid sat quietly chatting on the sidelines, hand in hand.came by, giving her a hug. Vonn, who suffered a traumatic leg injury at the Winter Olympics, used only a cane and sparkled in a Thom Browne gown. Ever since Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and wife Lauren Sánchez Bezos had been announced as honorary chairs, there had been anti-billionaire backlash in liberal New York City. Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he would not come.
A group called Everyone Hates Elon — a reference to Musk — had plastered posters at bus stops, like one on the East Side saying “Dress code: Willful ignorance,” and on subways. The Rev. Al Sharpton, though, had a different take. He'd attended a few Met Galas, and said billionaires were nothing new.
“There have always been billionaires here,” Sharpton said. “I may not agree with everything Bezos does, but do I abandon Beyoncé and Venus Williams? ” He also praised Wintour for paying attention to diversity.
“I opted to come. ”A date night for Jon Batistesometimes leading a musical band with his melodica to get crowds to head to dinner. This time around, he had no gala responsibilities — and he was happy. After all, he said, “it’s date night” with his wife, Suleika Jaouad.
“A night in the museum,” he quipped. The couple were dinner guests of Wintour herself. — a long white coat and white ensemble underneath. Hendricks often juxtaposed Black skin with white clothes, Batiste noted.
Jaouad wore a sumptuous Christian Siriano gown. Sinéad Burke, the Irish disability activist, said that when she was first approached to be on the host committee, “I said no.”They did, Burke says, arranging for a step-free entrance for guests who need it, south of the main entrance. Burke ended up working closely with the museum for 18 months before the gala. She made sure there was room for disabled press to cover the gala carpet.
She and her organization, Tilting the Lens, also helped train guides who will assist the public when they view “Costume Art,” which has a large section on the disabled body.two outfits are displayed on mannequins created in her image. Model Lauren Wasser, also on the host committee, attended in a custom Prabal Gurung ensemble all in gold, including her trademark gold prosthetic legs. She said she was glad the museum was shining a light on diversity in body types.
But she cautioned that in the outside world, things are looking bleaker. “I want to see it in real life, too,” Wasser said of such diversity.
“We had a moment. But we’ve taken a step back. ”from “KPop Demon Hunters” was wearing, well, silver. But she said she was feeling golden.
In fact, EJAE, part of the team that won best original song for the impossibly catchy tune, said she was trying to channel a specific lyric with her gown, a Swarovski number dripping with crystals.
“I wanted to literally be shining,” EJAE said. Mission accomplished. This wasn’t the first rodeo for Paulson. In fact in was her sixth Met Gala, she said.
But Paulson has more after-hours experience at the Met. She shot the movie “Ocean’s 8” there, a film about a heist during … the Met Gala. Asked if six Met Galas got a little tiresome, Paulson said they did not.
“You can’t really believe the people here and the oxygen you’re sharing,” the actor said. “People from all the great talents of the world. ”Dinner was under way. Beyoncé had arrived, with Jay-Z and Blue Ivy.
But the assembled media on the carpet and various staffers in the museum lobby weren’t breaking for the night. There was one more big arrival to come. Yes, Rihanna. When she and partner A$AP Rocky arrived in the Great Hall, they stopped for photos quickly and then headed toward the Temple of Dendur for dinner.
But then they ran into Heidi Klum, who knows her way around a costume, virtually unrecognizable as a marble statue.
“This is the coolest outfit tonight, ain’t gonna lie,” A$AP Rocky noted. “How much did they pay you to just stand here for the rest of the night? ” the singer asked the statue. They all laughed.
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Jeff Bezos Sarah Paulson Eli Russell Linnetz Jon Batiste Lindsey Vonn Connor Storrie Zohran Mamdani Nicole Kidman Bradley Cooper Thom Browne Blue Ivy Carter Hugh Jackman Gigi Hadid Entertainment U.S. News Lifestyle Al Sharpton Sutton Foster Alysa Liu Jay-Z Christian Siriano Heidi Klum Rihanna Lauren Sanchez Sports Anna Wintour Lauren Wasser
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