Pink tablecloths were set with chargers printed with floral branches, painted pink glassware, bamboo flatware, feather-decorated lampshades, and napkins embroidered with pink flamingos.Photo: Corey Tenold/Vogue Magazine
The benefit, which raised a record-breaking $15 million, was planned by Vogue’s special projects consultant Eaddy Kiernan and was produced by the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s head of special events Anais Disla and producers Sarah Pecaut and Rebecca Levene. Clyde Jones, senior vice president for institutional advancement; Kristin MacDonald, deputy chief development officer for events; and Kimberly Chey, associate development officer for events, worked with the Vogue stewardship on the benefit. This was the 21st year that Anna Wintour, who is a Met trustee, co-chaired the event.
While notable fashion superstars like Beyoncé, Rihanna, Blake Lively, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Taylor Swift were surprising absentees, their industry colleagues more than embraced the campy theme. Celine Dion, Elle Fanning, Katy Perry, Cardi B, Jennifer Lopez, Zendaya, Kendall Jenner, and co-chair Harry Styles wore otherworldly ensembles from designers as diverse as Oscar de la Renta, Moschino, Thom Browne, and Gucci, which underwrote this year’s exhibition (with additional support provided by Condé Nast). Not to be outdone, fellow co-chair Lady Gaga, donned—and changed out of—four Brandon Maxwell looks on the pink carpet.
Surrounded by thousands of pink roses hand-placed into two rows of hedges, the approximately 550 dinner guests posed on a hand-painted sisal carpet that was stenciled with pale pink feathers.
Raúl Àvila, who has produced the benefit decor since 2007, created the design for this year’s benefit in collaboration with Jan Versweyveld, who designed the exhibition. Film director Baz Luhrmann and set and costume designer Catherine Martin served as creative consultants. “Camp is how these elements—which include irony, humor, parody, pastiche, artifice, theatricality, and exaggeration—are expressed in fashion in a perfect dosage,” Àvila said. “The night’s decor was a combination of all these elements but fashioned in an elegant format.” Inspired by the over-the-top exuberance of the camp aesthetic, the evening's decor continually referenced the ostentatious pink flamingo, as a nod to cult filmmaker John Waters.
In the museum’s Great Hall, the grand floral centerpiece featured a fanciful flock of flamingos inspired by Waters’s 1972 dark comedy, Pink Flamingos. Five 25-foot-tall statues of the bow-legged water fowl with plumage made of pink faux feathers and gold sequins and glitter covering their legs and beaks stood on one leg atop the information desk. Beneath them, 30,000 pink roses and pink faux feathers covered the platform. It took Àvila and a team of 25 staffers to erect the showstopper, which was surrounded by a border of pink feathers. Planters that sat atop the flamingo legs were painted gold and contained birds of paradise, heliconia, and baby banana branches.
For the first time ever, Àvila limited himself to basically one color. “Pink comes in different shades and to be able to harmonize the different palettes was an interesting way to not look too exaggerated,” he said.
The sisal carpet extended through the Great Hall, with an ombré that transitioned from pale pink at the bottom of the steps to hot pink at the top. Oversized pink faux feathers covered the walls on both sides of the steps, creating the illusion of wings. At the top, a wall of hanging gold flowers served as a backdrop to the receiving line. It took about 12 hours to set up the Great Hall and Grand Staircase. “We wanted to leave guests with a sense of wonder and the desire to dare,” added Àvila about the decor.
After viewing the exhibition, guests proceeded to the Petrie Court for cocktails, then to the Temple of Dendur for dinner. They entered the room through a wall of tropical flora with 12-foot-tall pink flamingos on either side of the doorway.
Pink tablecloths were set with chargers printed with floral branches, painted pink glassware, bamboo flatware, feather-decorated lampshades, and napkins embroidered with pink flamingos. Inspired by his Latin roots, Àvila went with natural wood ballroom chairs that featured cushions covered with six different flamingo-printed patterns, while the centerpieces contained tropical plants including a variety of ginger species in colorful vases.
The evening’s menu by Olivier Cheng Catering and Events featured a variety of appetizers including baby shrimp toast with lemon, horseradish, and watermelon radishes; tomatoes stuffed with green goddess panna cotta; and asparagus tart with celery leaf pesto, along with the entree of filet of beef with beet horseradish crema, tomato rye tartlet, haricots verts in citrus balsamic garnished with orange flowers, braised rainbow carrots with thyme, and a mascarpone potato puree. For dessert, the Gianduja cake featured a “male-female” topper—male on one side, female on the other—for a bit of double entendre. Flamingo cookies served on silver trays with espresso were presented to departing guests.
Following a surprise performance by Cher at the conclusion of dinner, a bevy of after-parties kept the night going. Kim Kardashian and Serena Williams joined forces with Travis Scott, Trevor Noah, and La La Anthony to host Up & Down’s 6th annual after-party with owner Richie Akiva; Idris Elba and wife Sabrina hosted an after-party at the Top of the Standard where Elba served as DJ and surprised Donatella Versace with a birthday cake; and Jeremy Scott hosted his Moschino Ball After the Ball party held at the Playboy Club New York. Gucci creative director and Met Gala co-chair Alessandro Michele hosted the official after-party, which was held in the main gymnasium of Hunter College. Keeping with the camp theme, the space was adorned with tinsel streamers in the college’s school colors, along with collegiate-theme Gucci monogrammed cups.
VENDORS
Air Conditioning, Heating, Generators: Arena Americas
Audiovisual: Frost Productions
Catering: Olivier Cheng Catering and Events
Decor, Design, Flowers: Raúl Àvila Inc.
Event Production: Prodject
Red Carpet: Flemington Department Store
Security: Elite Investigations Ltd.
Venue: Metropolitan Museum of Art
