POV: You attend the Met Gala for the first time...
Yes, you read that correctly. Keep reading & subscribe for my *very* starry eyed account of Fashion's biggest evening and why "the worst enemy to creativity is self doubt."
Yeah, I couldn’t believe it either, when I wrote that sentence. I started writing this almost as soon as I found out that I had been confirmed. Kids, let me tell you. The scream that I scrumpt probably scared off some pigeons and had dogs barking.
But in all seriousness, it’s basically a teenage-once-upon-a-dream come true since. I’ve been dreaming of this for years, and the fact that it’s now a reality is beyond my wildest dreams. The quote above is a little known Sylvia Plath quote that a friend sent to me as I was working on how to write this. I had originally wrote this first thing when I woke up on Tuesday morning, but have paused and rewritten at least twice. I normally never edit these substack posts – but this one was largely edited by the estimable Lauren Sanchez (no, not Jeff’s fiancée but keep reading there’s more on her in a tick). Tks babe!
So, where should I start with this? What is worth hearing? What do I want to show and tell? I suppose the most obvious (and fun) part is the dress. For someone who loves the art and creativity of fashion as much as I do, it felt right to have the dress I wore to the met gala be custom Schiaparelli. I was introduced to the brand through a friend, and it was a wild and exhilarating experience. (Quick aside: I’ve always found the word exhilarating to be obnoxious but it’s really the only one that described the breadth of this experience.) Flying to Paris for fittings sounds like something written in someone else’s diary. Fashion has always been such a key part of my creativity as a writer, and this was such a fun way for me to flex my styling muscles by working directly with the Schiaparelli team. (Fun fact: the dress originally went down the runway in green. I changed it to purple because it’s my signature color duh).
I spent hours searching Net-A-Porter to complete the look. As if it were fate, gladiator inspired René Caovilla shoes and a cheeky Judith Leiber camera bag surfaced from the interwebs like a vision. The jewelry was and is the most personal touch of my Met ensemble. Wearing my mom’s earrings and ring felt like she was with me every step of the way, which got me really emotional just thinking about that, tbh.
But let me tell you ladies and gents, when I stepped on to that white carpet under the tents, my heart started beating in overdrive.
I had been steadily building toward this goal for awhile, but the way it all culminated when I stepped out of the car onto the carpet… damn. I got out behind Matthew McFadyen (of Succession and Pride & Prejudice fame – which felt auspicious because the latter is my favorite movie as you should know if you read Finding Jane Austen). and his wife. I started off REAL strong by tripping out of the car and nearly falling into Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez (who was wearing a gorgeous Oscar Dress). Jack Harlow followed closely behind me through the metal detector. At this point, I was overwhelmed and quickly decided I didn’t have it in me to run the gamut of the whole carpet. So I very quickly booked it up the stairs, again trying not to trip, and was gratefully saved by a reporter friend calling my name (Hi Brooke!), which helped me focus again and remind myself to be present. This time last year I was dealing with so much pain from my mom’s illness. To have her watching over meant that much more.
I was not prepared for the receiving line at all. Anna told me I looked pretty (which, WHATTTT, DID I GET AN #AWOK ?!?! My little intern self is dying right now) and introduced me to Benito (aka bad bunny) Chris was so kind and gave me a hug and double cheeked kiss on greeting. I think I was able to reply with something somewhat polite like congrats on co-chairing, but who knows. And yes I just referred to Thor by his first name. A thing I later texted the group chat? “Fuck, I love Australians.”
A quick spin through the exhibit, which was beyond incredible, but I’m going to have to go back to properly view everything. The cocktail hour was sooo awkward, but I went up and introduced myself to my friend’s sister-in-law and made friends with some other first timers. One of my new friends apparently almost went on a date with Sebastian Stan once - and he was seriously into her which was amazing to watch. We stan (lol) celebs and normies. Otherwise, I just spent the majority of that time looking at everyone’s outfits. It’s truly a visual feast. Easy to overindulge.
We were serenaded into dinner with a violion quartet playing “once upon a dream,” which although I am a self professed ‘Beauty and The Beast Girlie’ I did always love that song in Sleeping Beauty. By the time we walked into dinner I was dying to sit down. My feet were killing me. A thing no one tells you about the Met? It’s so much fucking walking. On hard marble. In fucking high heels.
Dinner was a bit low energy, but it was honestly a bit of a reprieve from the activity. My table mates were all interesting and fun to talk to but I managed to pop into the bathroom and did the bad girl move of taking off the security sticker on my phone to snap a quick selfie while A certain bad girl model/actress was smoking in the bigger stall. I’m not going to name names.
I lost track of the amount of celebrities I’d seen to be honest. It was a weird thing, where – living in New York you do the double take, like is that that person? – here the answer is yes, but you’ve already come to the conclusion it’s not, but then you realize, no actually it is. I definitely did that with Matt Damon, Alison Brie, Eddie Redmayne, Jamie Dornan, Nicholas Galitzne, and Anne Hathaway to name a few.
Dinner was great, honestly, food wise. I texted a friend the contents of the menu in exact detail (anything for you Lizzie J), and then the performance started. One of my tablemates was the lead curator in Egyptian Art for the museum, and mentioned she had supervised the performance a few days before. (Makes sense, since we were seated in the Temple of Dendur). But it turned out to be Ariana Grande, starting off with a theme appropriate rendition of “Once Upon a Dream,” before moving to “Into you” and “7 Rings.” She ended with “Yes, And?” which I don't’ love but it does sample Vogue by Madonna, and you know your girl loves a commitment to a theme.
It cleared out pretty quickly after that. The line of cars was atrociously long picking up everyone. The amount of celebrities on their phone being like, okay you’re on 86th street? Where? (Stars! They’re just like us!) I rushed home to put my feet up because fuck I looked like I had been tortured, but took some advil and redressed for the after party look.
Starring a Shortened Silver Carolina Herrera Sequin mini dress, some silver Larroudé heels, because as much as I love Vans they weren’t going to cut it this time. A tailcoat that I had tailored in a market in Shanghai in 2013, and rounding off the Girls on film theme with a Chanel Film Projector clutch. The look was a bit sentimental too. Carolina Herrera is one of the first “heritage” brands I loved, and I wanted them to be part of my Met story. The after party saw me and few friends heading to The Times Square Edition for Usher’s party. The people watching was amazing. I finally had a drink after several weeks. And ate a hot dog and French fries. We headed back to the hotel around 3am.
And so ends this experience. It’s surreal. I’m in shock. I’m in Awe. I’m so grateful to have been included in this event which I’ve wanted to attend since I can remember. I am incredibly thankful to the Friends of The Costume Institute for being able to make this happen. I know understand why Vogue.com has like 1000 pieces of content relating to this. I could be dining out on this experience for months on my social media & in this substack alone. I’m only writing this a few hours after the event, It’s now three days later, and I’m still processing, I think. I don’t know if I have anything to share wisdom wise, (yet, but I will probably do a follow up) other than I think approaching your dreams with childlike glee and wonder really does pay off.
All my love,
XOXO
Casey