NEW YORK — Strolling through the halls of the Metropolitan Museum of Art on his way to cocktails, James Corden comically spread his arms, as if he owned the place. “Let me know if you want me to talk about this,” he said, pointing to the precious artwork on the walls, joking with Jeff Bezos and his partner Lauren Sánchez, who happened to be walking behind him.
It was all in good fun, but Corden, like many celebrities, is a Met Gal regular.
Then there are the newbies. These guests, no matter how famous they are in their field, often profess a bit of admiration for the concentration of celebrities around them, and even some nervousness, like a child arriving at a new school.
For example: Stray Kids. The K-pop band arrived en masse at their first gala, all eight dressed by designer Tommy Hilfiger in different iterations of red, navy and white. Upon entering the museum, they walked up the grand internal staircase, reached the reception line and then headed to cocktails, where, they said, they slowly began to relax.
“We were nervous at first.” said band number Bang Chan. “We didn’t know what to expect, who we were going to meet,” added bandmate Felix. But they were adapting well and had already spoken to Chris Hemsworth, Steven Yeun and Brooklyn Nets guard Ben Simmons.
Then there was Ayo Edebiri, star of “The Bear,” who was a multiple winner on the awards circuit this year but was attending her first gala. She seemed almost out of breath after greeting hosts Jennifer Lopez, Bad Bunny, Hemsworth and Anna Wintour at the top of the stairs.
“I’m really, really, really excited to be here,” she said. “This is another really beautiful thing that I will try to do my best to remember.”
Some other memorable moments and scenes from inside the gala:
Although the name of the gala exhibition was “Sleeping Beauties: The Awakening of Fashion”, it was not actually about Princess Aurora from our fairy tales. Rather, it was about highlighting and illuminating fragile pieces of clothing from the museum’s collection that were now being “awakened” to the world. Still, it’s safe to say that the museum went for the fairytale vibe.
Upon entering the Great Hall, guests passed by an enormous centerpiece, 10 meters tall, representing a “whimsical tree”. Huge green flowers made of fabric bloomed over forest-like undergrowth with twisted branches that looked exactly like the foliage that Sleeping Beauty’s prince had to cut down to give her true love’s kiss. Guests then walked past a live string orchestra and a cadre of performers dressed as woodland creatures – in tunics and tights – frolicking in the woods.
Given the option of viewing the exhibit or heading straight to the cocktails, most guests chose the latter. But some attended the show, a multi-sensory fashion experience that involves not just sight but also sound, smell and touch. Lena Waithe spent time alone inspecting the clothes and said she was “amazed by the work I’m seeing.”
The actress/producer added that she, like many others, tends to think of fashion as something fun and light. “But then I come here and remember that it’s an art form,” she said. And she remembered a speech that Meryl Streep, as Wintour’s character, gives to Anne Hathaway in “The Devil Wears Prada,” about the clothes we wear being chosen for us. our style is influenced by people who are gone,” Waithe said.
Late-night host Meyers, attending the gala with his wife, said it was a nice break for a night away from childcare. But he also jokingly asked why his young children — ages 8, 6 and 2 — weren’t invited. “I think it’s really rude that Vogue didn’t invite them,” Meyers joked. “It’s so kid-friendly here. And they’re so good at keeping their hands off things.”
Meyers said her favorite thing about the gala was seeing “a lot of people I’m a fan of or have interviewed on the show.” But when it comes to fashion, he likes to play fair, he said: “No one wants a guy like me to pull off a big coup. I stay in my lane.”
There’s always a strong Broadway contingent at the Met Gala because Wintour is a huge theater fan. At this gala, Jonathan Groff, fresh off a Tony nomination for “Merrily We Roll Along,” laughed and joked with good friend and fellow “Glee” alumna (and “Funny Girl” star) Lea Michele, expecting her second child and resplendent in baby blue Rodarte. Groff recalled past Met Galas he attended, including one where he performed in the “Hair” show, and another in 2016 where guest Beyoncé had just released “Lemonade” about a week earlier, “That,” he recalled. . “It was epic.”
A table away sat another Broadway star, J. Harrison Ghee. Last year, Ghee attended his first gala, about a month before he won the Tony for best actor in “Some Like it Hot.” Ghee wore a dramatic feathered look by designer Howie B inspired, they said, by a caddis worm — perfectly in sync with the evening’s nature theme. The night, Ghee said, was proof that fashion was a vital and expressive art. And they added that “I would be very happy. I talk to them all the time – would they be proud? They would go.”
As Sánchez and Bezos toured the exhibit, her signature dress made an equally distinctive noise as it scraped against the floor. “We’re not going to lose you,” Bezos joked. Sánchez said she started crying when she first tried on the stunning design by Fernando Garcia and Laura Kim at Oscar de la Renta. The voluminous skirt had pearl and mirror appliqués and was intended to evoke Tiffany glass. “If you need a mirror, wear my dress,” Sánchez joked. She added that she felt the dress symbolized life—where everything is a little broken and depends on what you do with the pieces. And she got teary-eyed when she described the dress experience to Bezos: “He told me I had never looked more beautiful,” she said.
Fun fact: Sánchez said Garcia told her she needed an item to fix her dress and ordered it on Amazon.
How do you get hundreds of chatting celebrities to walk through the museum for dinner? The organizers tried in several ways. One year, it was a team of buglers. Another year, Jon Batiste and his melodica led a band weaving through the crowd. Last year, David Byrne did the honors. On Monday, a huge choir appeared, singing original music titled “Future of Us”, accompanied by dancers. Then a bell rang and the performers shouted, “For dinner!” And the crowd moved – slowly – to the Temple of Dendur, where the fairytale theme continued with tables featuring “enchanted chandeliers intertwined with flower arrangements.”
Arriving late is still in fashion; Some guests still arrived at 9pm and even much later. But for those who prepared it for dinnertime, here’s what was on the menu: a main course of beef fillet, pea tortellini, mushrooms and spring vegetables, followed by a dessert of petits fours inspired by the Brothers’ fairy tale Grimm from, yes, “Sleeping Beauty” – along with confections “in the form of personalized hats”.
This story originally appeared on ABCNews.go.com read the full story
