What You Might Have Missed From the 2025 Met Gala

0:28Hi, I'm Emma Spector. about to photograph celebrities. It's going to be a really great time. Oh, my gosh. So great. And later on, Choma and Chloe are going to interview Janixa Bravo, which is going to be so good because they're going to give us all the tea of what's happening after the dinner and a performance. I'm so excited for that. Same here. And I'm especially excited for the special treat we have coming later on the show. Zach Stafford, one of the hosts of our favorite podcast, This vibe check came into the studio on Friday to talk with Chiama all about this year's theme. They contextualized what it means to be a Black dandy and gave a little forecast of what we might see tonight.

1:09So we can't wait to get into the episode. Yes. But first, let's go talk to some of our staffers. I'm Taylor Antrim. I'm Deputy Editor of Vogue. We are here in the War Room. We call it the War Room, which is like a basement room of the Met. and it's the night of the Met Gala. Tonight we are celebrating the exhibition Superfine, which is all about dandyism and tailoring through history. And the co-chairs are really exciting. You've got Pharrell, you've got Coleman Domingo, you've got Lewis Hamilton, and last but not least, A$AP Rocky. Hi, I'm Hunter Abrams. I'm a photographer, and this is my sixth Met Gala.

1:57I mean, my dream guest was like Grace Jones or like RuPaul or like Janet Jackson. But I am really excited to see what our hosts wear. I'm particularly excited for Coleman. I'm Hannah Jackson. I'm a fashion writer. I've heard a little bit about what Lewis Hamilton is going to wear, so I'm very excited to see how it translates into real life based on what I've imagined just via email interviews. Uh-oh, insider info, insider trading here at Vogue.com. I'm Jamie Spence. I'm the Global Visuals Director. I want to see Rihanna. Rihanna? And Rihanna. Hi, I'm Florence. I'm the Associate Content Manager of Vogue.com.

2:44Right now, I am trying to get the sound turned on for the live stream in the war room, so the actors can watch and see what's happening. It's about to get really noisy in here. That's two queens right there. Hi, Chase. Take that paper. Take that paper. Wait, there's a reveal. There's a reveal. A brooch. It's a back brooch. It's a back brooch. We are looking at Zendaya looking the best anyone's ever looked in a hat. Her Vuitton look is inspired by Bianca Jagger's wedding suit to Mick Jagger. but the gag is she is walking like she's wearing such a slim silhouette and it's such a polar opposite to the other OG diva Diana Ross who needs seven men to carry her up the stairs this is what it's about honey

3:36you've just caught me I've lost my I can't breathe Why? Tell me what you're saying. I will now. Well, Bad Bunny, a.k.a. Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, has just walked on the blue carpet wearing an incredible custom Prada look, and he's wearing this, like, Fava-inspired hat by this Puerto Rican millionaire called De Leon. And then he has a tie that's made of rapia that's also inspired by the Fava. Like, it's just such a... Like, I never thought that somebody could make Prada Puerto Rican, and then Bad Bunny did it, and it's so good. You'll cheer.

4:13Andre 3000 is popping up with a piano on his back. I don't know what the hidden message is, but... He's trying to tell us. It looks heavy. Yeah, it looks mad heavy. You think it's like... And he has to go up the stairs. Oh, with a trash bag in his head. Okay. That's a trash bag in his head. Yeah. Chelsea and I are leaving the room to record. So we're going to take a quick break, then we'll be back with our interview with Janixa.

4:53You come to the New Yorker Radio Hour for conversations that go deeper, with people you really want to hear from, whether it's Bruce Springsteen or Questlove or Olivia Rodrigo, Liz Cheney, or the godfather of artificial intelligence, Jeffrey Hinton, or some of my extraordinarily well-informed colleagues at The New Yorker. So join us every week on The New Yorker Radio Hour, wherever you listen to podcasts.

5:22So guys, we are off the main Egyptian hallway that leads from the Temple of Dendor back to the Great Hall where everyone was exiting. I felt like a salmon swimming upstream coming from the basement up to meet Choma, Nadi, and Janixa Bravo, who were coming out of dinner and the performance. And Janixa is catching up on all the looks that she didn't see on the red carpet. Choma, you saw a lot of people, right? I did. I did. But give me a second. I'm still floating from basically Stevie Wonder performing. I'm just still in that space. Stevie Wonder. I feel like those are the only words. Isn't that what Michael Kors said?

5:59Yes. Yes, I was walking out. He was like, there's nothing else to say. It's that. That's the full sentence. I tried to compliment Michael on the look that he created for Suki. And he was just like, just Stevie Wonder. He wasn't having it. He was like, ma 'am. That's the only thought. Yeah. He was like, no. Nothing else matters. But yes, the looks. I did see many looks. And I love that Rihanna was a late entry because everybody is waiting for her. I mean, late is the understatement. My Lord. They were trying to close the red carpet. What time did she arrive? She arrived at like 9.40. Okay. And she wanted Rocky to come out and pose with her on the red carpet.

6:38And the feedback from inside. Yes, exactly. The feedback from inside was that Rocky was about to give remarks. And so he could not come outside. So there's a whole standoff. But she looked fabulous. She looked fabulous. Unreal. Was that Tom Brown? No, it was Mark Jacobs. It was Mark Jacobs. I know. I thought it was Tom Brown at first, too. Right. But it was, I mean, she just looked divine. And I love that that was her reveal. I think many of us suspected that she may have been. This child. Oh, my God. I didn't suspect. And I went up to do best dress. It was all over the internet. Well, I didn't see it.

7:17And I went up to do best dress with Anna during cocktails. And she's like, you know, I knew last night at my dinner that Rihanna was pregnant. I was like, do you have helped her? I know. Helped a friend out here and given a little heads up. I saw her in the Prada. She went to the, obviously they do the pre-met event for the host. Well, I didn't see that. But she didn't look pregnant. I know, but then she did when she left the Carlisle or the Mark today. I don't know how she concealed that bump yesterday. It's quite a bump. Yesterday it didn't look like a bump. Maybe it was just a good angle. I mean, Houdini.

7:49I can tell you what I saw on the red carpet from the live stream, but I want to know who you guys loved in person in cocktails and at dinner. Oh, wow. What outfits moved you? Well, I have to just say, Janixa's outfit is insane. We've been talking about this in our office. It's one of the most thoughtful outfits, I feel like. Can you tell us a little bit about the story behind it? I love the story behind it. So I came with Tory Burch. And when I was invited, I was told that the collaboration was going to be between her and Rashid Johnson, which I didn't really know what that meant or what it would look like.

8:28And from the first conversation we had, we were syncopated. I brought a couple of images to our first exchange. She brought a couple of images. Rashid brought a few of his paintings. And we were like all in step. It was super unusual because we had no history together. Jeremy O 'Harris set us up ultimately, right? He like— He's such a good matchmaker. What did you call in your piece? He's like a social doula? I called him a social doula. I love that. Social midwife. Well, fun fact, I suggested you to Frances first. Oh, you did. Okay, okay. Well, thank you. Frances, who is Tory Burch's PR. Yes.

9:08And yeah, it was really one of the most special experiences I've ever had. Process is really important to me as a maker. The rehearsal, the behind the scenes. And I feel this outfit is very much a celebration of process, right? Like the beginning, middle, and end, all the hands and minds and ideating that go into making the thing. And I feel very much like I'm carrying all of those artisans with me. Yeah. And if you look right now, I know you guys can't see this, but Janixa has the coolest bag that's just sitting on this desk. desk that has a kind of very if you've been to see received johnson's amazing retrospective at the guggenheim you will recognize the reference and it's a beaded version of one of his paintings the entire jacket is covered in a similar motif but it's with a ray like a raised is it silicone or it's too tactile embroidery um and sequence it's incredible all done by hand It feels good, too.

10:16I mean, the corset's killing me. Oh, I'm sure. It's my first time wearing a corset, and perhaps the last. You're like... Yeah, and perhaps the last. It felt heroic about three hours ago, and now it's starting to feel mean. I also want to say that I thought that Cy Gavin, who's the artist who helped design the decor, did such a spectacular job. It was so magical, the Great Hall centerpiece. And the minute I saw pictures of the red carpet, I thought it was going to be some like pinstriping or not tailoring. And it was dotted with daffodils, which are some of my favorite flowers. And then the center, the great hall centerpiece was it looked like floating daffodils.

10:57It's amazing. Little Narcissus, which apparently Cy Gavin was inspired by the myth of Narcissus, which in addition to inspiring the word narcissism was also about the moment when Narcissus saw himself for the first time. And I thought that was very moving and beautiful and such an original interpretation of what could in another event just be a red carpet. Yeah. Yeah. And that was beautiful. It was beautiful to walk in. The blue, the blue color was so special. I mean, I felt matched to it. I was like, oh, I did it right. You did. You did. Oh, this is for me. I'm down to the nails. Yeah. You guys can't see Jennings's nails, but they are incredible.

11:39Yeah, they're pretty good. UK-based artist, actually. Oh, amazing. Her name is Jan. She goes by Jan Paints Nails. She's in Manchester. When I was filming there, I met her. And she'd never done the Met Gala, and I invited her, and she did my nails and Tessa's and Jeremy's. Wow. So they're almost like miniature portraits on each nail. Yeah. Each hand-painted. Wow. They're fantastic. I mean, aside from your amazing look, who did you like to see? Oh, my gosh. Jeez, there were so many things. I love Jeremy's pants. I want to wear them now. I'd like them to be made for me, stat. Jeremy O 'Harris wore an amazing Belma look that really channeled a 19th century It's very much pulled from the exhibit, the reference.

12:28I also really loved Pamela Anderson. I know. I know we were sitting with her, so maybe that's cheating. But I just thought that the cut of that dress, the neck, the bosom. And the haircut with it. There was some good hair looks, too. There was also just a lot of good bosom tonight. Oh, we did a piece on that. Boobs are back. Oh, really? Sydney Sweeney was like. Well, her boobs have always been here. But yes. Boobs are back tonight on the red carpet. Yeah, boobs are back. Boobs are back. tits are in you guys um gosh what else um i know i was i was i saw doja cat and i was very tempted to or we were both like she was like yeah no everyone's been doing all night she had these pointy she also wore mark jacobs um she was wearing this i guess it was like almost like a leotard that was tailored in the on the top and had a leopard print running down the front and And she had amazing hair.

13:19Amazing hair. Oh, Tracee Ellis Ross. Yeah. But always. Well, hello. Her mother. Yeah. Oh, my goodness. How did we not talk about Diana Ross? Yeah. Mm-hmm. Diana had all of her. Diana, we're on first-time basis. Oh, you're close. We're very close. She had all of her children and grandchildren's names embroidered in the cape of her dress. Cape, train, whatever it is. It was feathered around the edges, and Sergio, our talent person, talent maestro, said that he had to get eight people to be carrying it and fanning it out. And she just, she really arrived like the diva that she is. Wow. I think she changed when she got in because she was wearing something different.

14:01She changed into a dress that she wore to the Met Gala 30 years ago. Wow. So she fits in it? Yeah, I asked the same question. It's a flowy silhouette. amazing yeah I want to see the side by side and speaking of Diana Ross I do think and I mean actually you pointed this out but I do think that Zendaya had a had a Diana Ross kind of out of mahogany moment in that white tuxedo was it Wells Bonner what was it no it was custom Vuitton it was channeling Bianca Jagger I felt Bianca Jagger I felt mahogany I also was thinking of that Barkley Hendrix painting yeah I thought that was really stunning. There were a lot of white suits with a variety of references.

14:47I feel like Madonna's Tom Ford was more of a Dietrich vibe. I will say in what I expected to be sort of like the potential for there to be a sea of monotonous black and white, it still felt quite varied and quite personal. And so many people looked like themselves in hyperbole. You know, they didn't seem like they had strayed too far into Halloween, though I'm like very into Halloween. I do believe this is fashion Halloween. But it still felt like people were themselves, you know, for sure. I actually, speaking of black and white, I did love how all the hosts coordinated in black and white. And it was wonderful seeing them on stage when they were giving their remarks because you could just see each had their own interpretation of that monochromatic palette in their own way.

15:36You had our beloved Coleman Domingo who had an incredible Valentino checkerboard look on with its massive embroidered flower. Then you had Pharrell who designed his own outfit, obviously, as the creative director of Vuitton with a pearlized blazer, which was incredible. And I managed to get in really close because the details here were… I ran my hand on it. I ran my hand on it too. Yeah, it felt really good. It felt really good. And then there was A$AP Rocky, who looked incredible in a much more kind of modern interpretation of a suit. He wore Custom Org, which is his brand that he recently launched with a runway show a couple of seasons ago.

16:24And then there was Lewis Hamilton, who as a Brit represented the Brits with Grace Wells Bonner. And Grace Wells Bonner looked incredible tonight. I didn't see Grey's, but I love Tyler Mitchell. So I want to acknowledge that I thought when Tyler was Grey. She was well represented in the room. I felt like it was very beautiful. And Keith Powers. I don't know him, but he was one of my favorite looks. Yes. What was the brand he was wearing? I don't know, but all of us downstairs were swooning over him. I was like, he was the whole favorite. Sometimes you see a look and you're like, and I'd like to be wearing that also.

16:55That was one of the ones. I was like, and that for me as well. Yeah. It was incredible. There was also a Paris opera ballet star, Guillaume Diop, who Valentino brought. And he was wearing the most gorgeous, embellished, like, taffeta opera cape. It was so old school, Andre. I loved it. He looked so handsome. Lauryn Hill was very exciting to see. I did not see Lauryn. Oh, my God. Completely missed that. Lauryn Hill was there in a crazy hat. A hat that looked like the sun. And she was in this pale yellow. And then we were all tapping away in the war room in the basement. And suddenly this sort of ray of sunlight wafted through.

17:39And it was just Lauryn Hill exiting the building through the basement. Oh, my goodness. She's like, I did that. So she came in and then left? She left. Wow. I guess maybe she just didn't want to be bothered. We have a picture of Kiana, like, completely shocked with just a movement of Lauryn Hill behind her. Kiana was like, I'm… That might be my favorite story of the night. It was amazing. Well, I had a great experience because I usually go up to cocktails and get the best dress list approved by Anna so we can get it up quickly. And we were standing sort of behind like in a little corner. And Rocky and Lewis Hamilton came out of the elevator.

18:18And Anna goes, come over here. You saw everyone in the receiving line. Who did you think was best dressed? Oh, my goodness. And Rocky immediately said, me. and looked almost confused. Like, what's the discussion? And I can't wait to walk away and download all of this. I just am like, I need to like— Just absorb it all. Well, I think I just need to really sit with the outfits, right? You're in the room, but you don't— It's actually kind of overwhelming, and I thought that the exhibit was also really emotional. Yeah, the exhibit was special. And really special, and I was feeling sort of vulnerable after having seen it, so I felt like— It's a sensory overload.

18:58It took a beat to land and then Stevie Wonder happened. So then there's also just like back to being kind of high, right? It's sort of an out-of-body experience, I would say. Totally, totally. It was really special. So I felt with the exhibit, so there's this idea of seeing yourself and what seeing yourself does for you. I think I have grown accustomed to not seeing myself, but being able to see myself. meaning not seeing myself in a literal way but seeing myself in in feelings and in in tones and moods and colors and so on and I had this kind of like slightly out of body experience because I was looking at these images and seeing myself I guess right or like it felt like I've had so few instances of feeling like I'm in the majority.

19:53And that room made me feel like I was having this feeling of being in the majority. And that felt like a real charge and a charge that I'm not used to, right? So it felt slightly absurd, slightly surreal. I also think that I felt I was having the feeling of grieving, grieving this promise of what could have been, right? Like if I'm just speaking to politic and where I'm feeling a kind of like unrest globally and this very loud kind of anxiety. And so as I walked through the room, I felt, yeah, a grieving of promise, a promise. No, I totally agree with you. I think this morning was quite emotional because colman domingo gave a really moving uh speech for the preview and he described how the three men his life had influenced his style and i was actually moved to tears by the stories that he told he talked about his stepfather he talked about who had spent his whole life in polishing floors and had this every Friday night would dress up and leave his kind of carpenter work clothes behind and he described like what it was like to see him and his mother go out and be totally transformed and how wonderful they would look and then how his father came into his life was sounded like the definition of a dandy showed up in a whirlwind dressed in the most incredible clothes in a in a butter yellow cadillac and just was the coolest man he'd ever seen and then he sort of passed the mic to monica miller and she became very emotional because she was also talking about her parents and about how they weren't dandies but they were always well put together and how important that was and this thread of like ancestors and people paying respect to their ancestors and it was something that the four hosted in their remarks was really powerful.

22:03And honestly, there were moments when people were moved because there were people in the room that should have been there, like Andre Leon Talley, like Virgil Abloh. I was with Gigi Hadid walking through the exhibit and she started to cry when she was very close to Virgil. And Virgil was extremely generous. But he had a circle of closer friends. He was extremely generous of everybody. And every time he met anybody, He left an impression. He was one of those people. And she was just like, I just feel like he's here. And she started crying. So it was quite an emotional evening, more emotional, I think, for many different people for many different reasons.

22:42Yeah, it was quite an interesting, very moving. It was so full of feeling. Yeah, it was full of feeling. Exactly. That was full of feeling. How were the remarks inside the gala? They were great. They were great. ASAP is just the funniest guy alive and always brings a joke to the proceedings. And Pharrell was obviously really excited to be able to introduce everybody to the performance, but also to pay respects, as he said, to his ancestors. And then Coleman also did the same and he began to sort of, he was part of the performance. He sort of kicked off everything and began reading poetry. And it was very, very theatrical.

23:26It was very theatrical. It felt like it was a piece of theater. I mean, it did, didn't it? From the moment that the four of them were on stage, I would say until we walked out of that room, it was great theater. Yeah. Yeah. And then Usher obviously came into the room and people, everybody got up. And I will say that I've seen a few performances here at the Mert, but not every performance gets the entire room to their feet. And the minute that Usher walked in, everybody was dancing. Everybody was like craning themselves to see, standing very close to Vera Wang. And she was literally throwing shapes.

23:59It was like, I couldn't see for her arms flying everywhere. She was like, literally, her and Kiki Palmer were just kind of rock. It was quite impressive. And then I think nobody anticipated that Usher would be followed. Because Usher was in the room. Usher had come in. Usher said hello to everybody. It was very like, you know, he's a great guy. He's been on the podcast. He loves everyone. He knows everyone. He makes everybody feel comfortable. So I think people weren't so surprised because he was there. But then Stevie, I think people were like really surprised because, I mean, he's a legend. I heard the whispers, but I didn't believe it.

24:35Janixa, tell us your itinerary for the evening. Well, we're really behind, right? Like the night is totally behind, right? Like, they're after parties that started at 10 and it's 1130 and just left. We've got catching up to do. We have some catching up to do. I also have a look change. I'm in a long-distance relationship. My partner's here. So I, like, want to go to the room and, like, you know, have him help me get out of my corset. I'm not helping him out of his corset. He's helping me out of mine. but I think the plan initially was Cartier GQ then my own party yes or maybe Pharrell's then my own but now that I'm looking at the time I was like I think I'm just going to my own party I think I'm going to my own party my niece is going to DJ for the first hour oh that's exciting so I like kind of feel like I gotta go see my niece you know DJ niece amazing this is maybe the first case of a DJ that has arrived somewhere through nepotism and it's vibes.

25:36I love that. And you? Yes, Chama, what's your sketch? What are we doing? Well, it was going to be similar to yours, but I don't know if I'm going to make it to Cartier. I might start at Boom Boom where Burner Boy is hosting a party. And then I want to go to GQ and then I'm going to head downtown and end up at yours. Great. And maybe Pharrell's, but I think that one seems like it's very late. Yeah. Pharrell is having an Uno game party. I'm also like, are we playing games? I think he's quite serious about it. I don't think he would. So it's competitive. Oh, yeah. Yeah. So it could be a night. Yeah.

26:11Are you doing an outfit change? No. Smart. No, Choma never does an outfit change, which I really respect. Smart cookie. Choma is all about comfort. Yeah. I'm like, it's not about me. This night is not about me. I mean, I feel fabulous and I'm really thankful to Martine Rose. But I feel like it's not, this night isn't about me. So I get to wear the same thing and I love, I would wear this, I hope to wear this suit many, many times. I hope you do too. It's a very good thing to wear many times. And if you want to lend it to someone, you're welcome to lend it to me. Sure. Anytime. Anytime. When you're over in the UK.

26:44Great. It's yours. Thank you. Janixa, so I'd love to know what you've been working on. I know I had the pleasure of seeing you in London recently. Tell me what's been going on and what we can look forward to. Yeah, so when last I saw you, the show that I'd made for the BBC had just come out, which is called The Listeners. And I've been back home now for about six, seven months. And I've been writing. I've got a lot of things in development, but I feel I want to work on a film next. And I've got something in mind, something that's set up, but I want to feel a little better about where the script is at.

27:22Okay. I'm close, though. Watch the space. Yeah, watch this space. It's coming soon. Amazing. Amazing. Thank you so much for taking the time. Thank you. Thank you for having me.

27:36So coming up next, my conversation with the lovely Zach Stafford on his podcast, Vibe Check.

27:52Hi, I'm Rebecca Ford, senior awards correspondent at Vanity Fair and co-host of Little Gold Men. Oscar season is upon us. Little Gold Men takes you behind the scenes of the race for the biggest prize in Hollywood. There's a hundred wrestlers in the room, but only one can be Oscar nominated. Whether you're a movie lover or an industry buff, Little Gold Men from Vanity Fair has everything you need to know about this year's Oscar race. Follow and listen to Little Gold Men wherever you get your podcasts.

28:30So we love to begin our shows with asking what's your vibe. So it's Met Gala weekend. We're talking Friday before. I'm going to see you on the red carpet on Monday. What's your vibe? Are you okay? Low-key, a little dysregulated. how so you know i'm quite like i think i give the impression of being very laid back everyone's like oh so laid back so laid back but there's like it's like a storm underneath really a quiet hurricane exactly so but i think there's like this like nervous excitement too and anticipation and um this met feels like it's coming at the right time it feels like it's going to be a kind of a moment of joy in a time when we all feel a little bit exhausted.