Inside the Met Gala: Under a petal-filled sky, guests honor Black style, hail a ‘monumental night'

NEW YORK — ''Well, it took a minute,'' said Spike Lee, surveying the glittering Met Gala crowd during cocktail hour through bright orange glasses that matched his New York Knicks cap. ''But we're here now, that's the most important thing."

Lee was referring to the fact that for the very first time, the Met Gala was making a point of celebrating Black style and Black designers — something he felt was an overdue milestone, but a very welcome one.

''Long overdue,'' Lee repeated. ''But we're here to celebrate. And who knows what's gonna happen because of this event? There's gonna be reverberations around the world."

Lee was echoing an excitement that many of the approximately 400 guests — luminaries in sports, music, fashion, film, theater and more — shared as they sipped cocktails or toured the gala's accompanying exhibit, ''Superfine: Tailoring Black Style.'' The show is an exploration of Black menswear from the 18th century onward, with dandyism as a unifying theme.

Another film director, Baz Luhrmann, was touring the exhibit, designed by curator Monica L. Miller, a Barnard professor who literally wrote the book on dandyism: ''Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity. He, too, mused on the importance of this year's theme.

''Sometimes the subjects are fun, sometimes you go, that's interesting. But this is a subject where you go, why has light not been shone on this before?" Luhrmann said. ''Black sartorial power on culture is so great but how much talk has there been about it?''

Thinking of a departed friend

For Whoopi Goldberg, the most important person of the evening wasn't actually there. It was her late friend, André Leon Talley, the fashion editor and personality who was so important to Black style, and with whom she'd attended previous galas.

Talley, who died in 2022, is honored in the exhibit; there's a caftan he wore, among other objects. And Costume Institute curator Andrew Bolton has said he was an inspiration for the show.

''I think they did him proud,'' Goldberg said during cocktails. ''I'm very happy to be here again, but spectacularly happy to see how they took care of him.''

Asked what Talley would have thought of the show, she guessed he'd say: "I'm glad you understand.'' And she added: ''What better way to honor him?''

Goldberg was dressed head to toe — meaning mini-top hat to spats-inspired shoes, to handbag – in Thom Browne.

''He said. ‘Will you come?''' Goldberg said of Browne, whose suits, particularly, are hugely popular. ''And I said, when you're done, just put it on me, and I'm good. I feel incredible.''

So what is dandyism?

It was a favored topic of conversation; every guest had a slightly different way of defining what a dandy is.

For director Lee, it was simple: ''Doing your own thing.''

For Audra McDonald, it was about ''a sense of reclaiming'' one's own identity and worth. The Broadway actor, currently starring in ''Gypsy,'' was among the first guests examining the exhibit, along with her husband and fellow actor, Will Swenson.

Over at cocktails, the Rev. Al Sharpton was describing dandyism as a form of activism: the silent kind.

''It means to me that even in the midst of being in a socially limited situation, we celebrate. I refuse to submit to just having a menial job. I'm gonna dress up . I'm gonna tip my hat. It's a sense of rebellion without having to speak it.''

A crucial sense of timing

Sharpton was full of praise for the Met having chosen this moment to honor Black style.

''It comes at a very important time,'' he said. "To make a statement of diversity at the highest cultural level — which is the Met Gala — when diversity is under attack by the highest office in the land is more than if I could do a hundred marches. This is a monumental night."

Broadway actor Alex Newell agreed. It was the performer's third Met Gala in a row, but this one had a special meaning.

''It's nice to see us represented this way,'' Newell said. ''Just when it is needed the most."

A flower-filled night sky

Once gala guests climb the steps outside and enter the museum's Great Hall, they encounter each year a monumental centerpiece, usually floral.

This year, it was hundreds — thousands? — of flower petals suspended from the ceiling, with lighting evoking a starry sky. The petals also hung over the Great Hall staircase, which guests ascended to greet the awaiting receiving line of gala hosts.

The petals — made of fabric, truth be told – were meant to symbolize narcissus flowers, and there were also reflecting pools, nodding to the myth of Narcissus.

The greeting was not only visual but musical: An orchestra, accompanied by swaying singers, played favorites like Al Green's ''Let's Stay Together'' and Stevie Wonder's ''Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing,''

Guests then either proceeded to view the exhibit, or head straight to cocktails in the airy Engelhard Court. Often, they seem to prefer socializing, but this year the exhibit was filled with guests.

Honoring Oscar (Wilde, that is)

One of the more famous dandies, historically speaking, was Oscar Wilde. And so there was symmetry in the fact that Sarah Snook — the ''Succession'' star — was dressed in a way Wilde would have liked.

It was certainly intentional. Snook now is appearing on Broadway in ''The Picture of Dorian Gray,'' the stage adaptation of Wilde's 1891 novel in which she plays all 26 roles.

''Yes, There's definitely an echo,'' Snook said with a smile, about her striking (and aristocratic-looking) black suit. ''Oscar would be happy.''

Snook said she was enjoying her night off at the gala — conveniently for the many guests from Broadway, theaters are dark on Mondays.

''I'm loving the celebration of beautiful things,'' Snook said of her gala experience.

There are always first-timers

At every Met Gala, there are newbies — and they're often rather starstruck. One of them was model Christian Latchman, 19, wearing a dramatic white ensemble that combined trousers with a long skirt.

If he looked familiar, that's because Latchman is the face in the photograph on the cover of the exhibit's massive hardcover catalog.

Asked to sum up his feelings about the evening, he said simply: ''Astonishment. That's the word for it.''

Also new to the gala was actor Keith Powers, who sat on the sidelines, soaking it in. Was it all intimidating? Overwhelming?

''All of the above,'' he said. ''It makes me anxious — and happy, and inspired.''

A call to dinner, tuba included

Cocktails are fun, but dinner at the Met Gala sounds even more fun — that's where guests get an A-plus musical performance, for one thing.

But music also accompanies the call to dinner. This time, it was the New York-based High and Mighty Brass Band who did the honors, snaking through cocktails with drums, trombones, a tuba and trumpets.

Then guests headed off — slowly — to dinner, where they feasted on a menu by chef Kwame Onwuachi. Dinner began with papaya piri piri salad, and moved on to creole roasted chicken with a lemon emulsion, and cornbread with honey curry butter and barbecue greens. Dessert? That was a ''cosmic brownie'' with powdered sugar doughnut mousse.

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