It’s been two years since Anne Hathaway stepped out on the Met Gala red carpet in a stunning tweed Versace gown, accessorized with gold safety pins, pearls, and camellia flower details. At tonight’s event, the Devil Wears Prada actress opted for a more refined approach, wearing a custom Carolina Herrera column dress and tailored white button-down designed by Wes Gordon, dripping in Bulgari jewels—a subtle nod to her character in Ocean’s 8 who helped stage a heist at the high-profile gathering.
After skipping last year’s gala, likely due to her press commitments around the release of The Idea of You, Hathaway’s appearance tonight is a highly anticipated return. But it’s very unlikely to be the last red carpet we’ll see the actress attend in the near future, as she has a number of major film projects lined up, including Christopher Nolan’s buzzy adaptation of The Odyssey, an adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s novel Verity, and the David Lowery A24 drama Mother Mary, among others. As she told V in 2024, she loves fashion, but she’s “an actress first.”
“I view myself more as a guest,” she explained. “I think it’d be an insult to someone whose education revolved around it, whose life revolves around it, who has done a full fashion cycle in multiple cities as opposed to just, like, getting invited to a show and an after-party. I think there’s a degree of stamina and schlepping involved in being a proper fashion person. I’m very grateful to be a guest. I mean, I’ve studied it, but it’s informal. I’m aware of the history. I love fashion photography. And I’ve been welcomed for a long time and been shown great kindness and generosity by people whose lives it is. But I’m an actress first.”
For Hathaway and Gordon, designing a look that honored both the evening’s theme, “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,” and the dress code, “Tailored For You,” was no small feat. This year marks a rare spotlight on menswear—the first in over two decades since 2003’s “Bravehearts: Men in Skirts,” an exhibit that challenged the gendered conventions imposed on Western fashion after the 19th century. The night also presented a distinct opportunity to reinterpret traditionally masculine silhouettes while paying homage to one of fashion’s most revered icons, the late André Leon Talley, a close friend and longtime supporter of Mrs. Herrera.
Below, the designer offers a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the creative conversations, inspiration, and design process that brought the duo’s look to life.
When it comes to creating a custom garment for the Met Gala, how do you even begin that conversation?
The first step in the process begins with your date. It’s about finding who I will be bringing to the Met and brainstorming as a team—with our amazing in-house PR, and me thinking about someone who really I’m inspired by at the moment and forming that relationship and that partnership.
This year, you’re dressing Anne Hathaway—once you have your date secured, what does the timeline for building the look actually look like from there?
It’s usually over the course of several weeks, and it’s an opportunity for her to exert her point of view as well. So, we really have a conversation from the sketch process all the way through the fittings. It ends up being something that I think she feels personally invested in as well, and that’s why I really love this process. It’s one of my favorite events for that reason, because you just really have the opportunity to form a deep relationship with the woman you’re dressing and create something together.
I think that’s what sets the Met Gala apart from other red carpets or even runway shows—it becomes a true creative collaboration with the client, almost reminiscent of the intimacy and precision of a couture atelier. What did that dynamic look like with Anne?
I’ve been a fan of Anne’s forever, and we’ve worked together many, many times. When I had my own collection, she was actually one of my big red carpet moments for the premiere of Interstellar. She’s been a supporter of mine both with my own collection and with Carolina Herrera. [She] was kind of my dream first choice this year.
This year’s theme dives deep into the history of Black fashion, tailoring, and dandyism—how did those ideas influence your design process?
I’m always so inspired by André Leon Talley. Carolina Herrera partnered with the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), of which Talley was a tremendous supporter. In fact, he donated his wardrobe and his archives to them. So, SCAD granted us exclusive permission to look at the catalog of his wardrobe, which [is being put] together for an upcoming exhibit this fall.
What other aspects of his legacy and style did you draw from?
I think what he was so brilliant at was mixing the discipline with the flamboyance—the tailoring with the drama and exuberance. And so, for Anne’s look, it’s a really clean silhouette. It’s really that juxtaposition between the tailored and the soft, the dramatic, and the disciplined.
Once you’re inside the Met, what’s that experience like as a designer? Are you chasing your date around with safety pins?
Usually, I’m following around the talent helping navigate a train. But at the end of the day, there’s a part of me that’s still a kid from Atlanta. To be in that room shoulder to shoulder with the most famous people on the planet never ceases to give me sense of awe and speechlessness.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
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