\n
<\/p>\n
Alysa Liu surveyed the glittery crowd arrayed in front of her, sipping cocktails and chatting. It was her first Met Gala, and she hesitated for a second, searching for a word to describe it.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s \u2026 BIG,\u201d the Olympic skater finally said with a grin.<\/p>\n
But what Liu, dressed in a blood-red custom Louis Vuitton gown with a full skirt and huge ruffles, couldn\u2019t quite get was how big SHE had become. Even at a party full of very, very famous people, everyone wanted to greet her.<\/p>\n
Some Met Gala guests have been famous for many years. Others have achieved fame with dizzying speed. For Liu, all it took was a gold-medal performance that charmed the whole world.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverybody recognizes me!\u201d she said, with genuine surprise, of the crowd packed into the airy Charles Engelhard Court at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. \u201cIt\u2019s crazy. Imagine that overnight, suddenly everyone knows who you are!\u201d<\/p>\n
And then America\u2019s skating sweetheart was off, soon to be spotted laughing with Connor Storrie of \u201cHeated Rivalry,\u201d another star of the night who also arrived from an ice rink.<\/p>\n
Some more scenes from inside the Met Gala:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
After guests made their way up the carpeted steps to the museum, they entered into the Great Hall, which had been transformed into \u201ca Northern Italian garden,\u201d in the museum\u2019s words. There was a huge moon hanging and swaying from the ceiling, and below it a floral centerpiece surrounded by cypress branches.<\/p>\n
A half dozen harpists serenaded the guests, who waited to shake the hands of the gala co-chairs \u2014 Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams, Vogue\u2019s Anna Wintour, and honorary chair Lauren S\u00e1nchez Bezos \u2014 but not, for now, the late-arriving Beyonc\u00e9.<\/p>\n
The receiving line was a long wait, reported Sarah Paulson.<\/p>\n
\u201cI waited 45 minutes,\u201d the actor said, explaining why she hadn\u2019t made it yet to the Conde M. Nast Galleries to see the fashion exhibit, \u201cCostume Art,\u201d which examines the dressed body through centuries of art history. Her feet hurt. \u201cYou could cut my legs off at the ankle,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
As the Engelhard court gradually filled, guests milled about snacking on lobster crostini or tomato and mozzarella \u201cpillows.\u201d<\/p>\n
Zo\u00eb Kravitz, who headed the host committee, greeted Storrie \u2014 did we mention he was a top attraction? \u2014 and complimented him on his work. Bradley Cooper and Gigi Hadid sat quietly chatting on the sidelines, hand in hand.<\/p>\n
Near them, Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster did the same. Jackman stood up when skier Lindsey Vonn 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.<\/p>\n
Ever since Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and wife Lauren S\u00e1nchez 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 \u2014 a reference to Musk \u2014 had plastered posters at bus stops, like one on the East Side saying \u201cDress code: Willful ignorance,\u201d and on subways.<\/p>\n
The Rev. Al Sharpton, though, had a different take. He\u2019d attended a few Met Galas, and said billionaires were nothing new.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere have always been billionaires here,\u201d Sharpton said. \u201cI may not agree with everything Bezos does, but do I abandon Beyonc\u00e9 and Venus Williams?\u201d He also praised Wintour for paying attention to diversity. \u201cI opted to come.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said the gala \u201cbrings a cultured meeting space\u201d for people who haven\u2019t yet met.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n At previous galas, Jon Batiste has performed, sometimes leading a musical band with his melodica to get crowds to head to dinner. This time around, he had no gala responsibilities \u2014 and he was happy.<\/p>\n After all, he said, \u201cit\u2019s date night\u201d with his wife, Suleika Jaouad. \u201cA night in the museum,\u201d he quipped. The couple were dinner guests of Wintour herself.<\/p>\n Batiste wore a look by Eli Russell Linnetz that he said echoed the work of late Black portraitist Barkley L. Hendricks \u2014 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.<\/p>\n Sin\u00e9ad Burke, the Irish disability activist, said that when she was first approached to be on the host committee, \u201cI said no.\u201d<\/p>\n Unless, she says she told organizers, they made the gala fully accessible.<\/p>\n They did, Burke says, arranging for a step-free entrance for guests who need it, south of the main entrance.<\/p>\n 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 \u201cCostume Art,\u201d which has a large section on the disabled body.<\/p>\n And Burke herself, who was born with dwarfism, agreed to pose for a custom mannequin; two outfits are displayed on mannequins created in her image.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m proud of the small moments,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Model Lauren Wasser, also on the host committee, attended in a custom Prabal Gurung ensemble all in gold, including her trademark gold prosthetic legs.<\/p>\n 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. (Research has found that designers are starting to turn away from using plus-size models, for example.)<\/p>\n \u201cI want to see it in real life, too,\u201d Wasser said of such diversity. \u201cWe had a moment. But we\u2019ve taken a step back.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\nA date night for Jon Batiste<\/h2>\n
Progress in the fight for diversity<\/h2>\n
But a step backward, elsewhere<\/h2>\n