Every year, there’s a comedown after the Oscars have wrapped and the awards season is finally over. It’s a hectic time for fashion/celebrity people and everyone needs a break. But then May rolls around and suddenly we get the Met Gala, which has – in my opinion – overtaken the Oscars for the position of “the most important fashion event of the year.” And most of that is due to Anna Wintour. While the Met Gala has always been popular, over the past 10 years, it just gets bigger and bigger and more significant. I personally love to cover the Met Gala photos – there’s no four-hour awards show to watch, there’s no “campaign” to win anything. It’s purely about fashion and it’s really fun. That is, it’s fun to watch from a distance. For last year’s Met Gala, Anna Wintour allowed documentary cameras to follow her and her team around as they prepared for the gala. The result is the documentary called The First Monday In May. The first trailer came out in February:
As you can see, organizing the annual event is a hectic pain in the ass. Ahead of the premiere of the film at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 13th, the New York Post has done a preview of what we’ll see in the doc. It’s a great read – go here for the full piece. There’s a lot of shade and a lot of drama. Most of the juiciest quotes come from Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, Vogue’s head of events. Some highlights:
Wintour picks up garbage. Wolkoff says: “We’d be in our gowns and picking up tables and sweeping the floors . . . if there’s garbage on the floor. Anna does that, too.”
No parsley. One former Vogue employee tells The Post that Wintour banned parsley from being served at the party “because you don’t want that stuck in your teeth.” Same goes for onion and garlic (bad breath) and appetizers like bruschetta (“It can fall easily on your gown,” says the source).
The seating arrangements are like high school. At one point in the documentary, Anna and her staff are complaining about a particularly bad table with Anna saying there’s “no celeb” at it and she’s told there’s only “Chloë Sevigny and Solange Knowles.” Ha. Later, Sevigny looks disappointed with her table assignment and tells the camera, “Just like high school.”
Cellphones are banned. One Vogue employee says: “Anna is sort of an old-school traditionalist. She likes a dinner party where people are actually speaking to each other.” She explains that the staff subtly monitors phone usage. “We aren’t sitting over people’s shoulders, but if it’s an obvious thing we might gently remind them.”
Rihanna asked for so much money. Rihanna performed at last year’s Met Gala and she “demanded a performance budget twice as much as any past artist, a big money matter that was turned over to Wintour to handle. (No one interviewed would reveal how much Rihanna ended up costing.)”
There’s also a story about how Wolkoff had a C-section two months before the Met Gala several years back and she “popped her stitches” as she was racing up the stairs. Ugh. Anyway, all of this information does not surprise me in the least. Of course fashion people are bitchy high school girls and of course everything is hyper-organized and of course there’s no parsley.
This year’s Met Gala is being held on May 2 and the theme is “Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology.” I imagine that will mean a lot of robot-like fashion? Metallics? I have no idea. But I’m really excited about this year’s Met Gala because of the co-chairs: Taylor Swift and Idris Elba. I am SO looking forward to Idris being a big part of this year’s gala.
Photos courtesy of Getty, WENN.
Wouldn’t it be better if she Banned some of the people she invites to the Met Gala. I think that would be where to make it a lot better.
Well she also needs them to keep the conversation going, more publicity, bad/good dresses & which designers they might wear. I’m sure Wintour makes their life living hell i.e. Kate Upton.
Ban herself, its supposed to be about designers n their work but the celebs have taken over. Last yrs pageant like dresses,see through bedazzled mess was gross.
Yes! No skating costumes (netted, bedazzled, sheer), please. How about if the theme is Cher (Cher in all her glorious groundbreaking artful styles)! How about if Wintour gets a hairstyle—THAT would be amazing. WhatEVER they paid Rihanna was too much, imo.
So, I wonder what nibbles they do serve? If I were wearing a fabulous gown, I would think carefully about my food and beverage intake with regard to how many trips to the loo I may need in the course of the evening because negotiating a public toilet stall in one is hardly glamourous. THAT is the expose I want to hear about! Tell us how they manage that! ;-P
I watched the trailer to the documentary. What an insufferable bunch of whineypants they are. I love the fashion of the Met gala, or the costumes, which they are to me, more than fashion. But if I had to work with or spend a lot of time with Anna and her crew I think I’d stick my head in the oven.
Ha ha, GNAT!
It’s so odd that people really get worked up over this. If the Cala lilies are two minutes late it’s a CRISIS!!! Somebody gets FIRED!!! If your table isn’t high status enough you cry into your glass of air.
I do like the technology theme, since Anna is so robotic anyway. Maybe someone will wear something that lights up, or has those butterflies that actually flutter around the dress. The costumes could be great!
You’ll get the usual ones who stick to the theme and go all out, which is the whole point of it. Then you’ll get the ones who don’t bother and just show up in dresses/tuxes/netting and some sequins, the ones who should be turned away at the door.
I’m always curious how much input the wearer gets when it comes to their gowns, as they’re there as the designers guests. Like, who ended up being put with a random celeb and just gives them a dress? Who is actually excited about the people they’re working with?
I’m looking forward to the Met Ball too! I actually think Taylor is the perfect hostess for this year’s theme – she always looks a little robotic.
People making a giant deal out of something that means so little. I am so glad I was raised to help people (my job) and animals (my spare time).
Catwoman, you are sooo right. They act as if they were doing the greatest thing on Earth. I love fashion, but come on…
This is what happens when you have a very narrow social group in a closed off section of life. If this is your entire world, all your friends and colleagues are in fashion, and you live on a tiny island to work in it, it will seem like the only thing that matters.
AKA they are sheltered enough to lack perspective.
The MET Gala is the primary fundraiser for The Costume Institute. It seems like a big deal to their financial solvency, so, yes, they are stressed but at least they pay their bills! Plus, it’s fun to look at the costumes. Criminal justice, medicine, and education are important (I’ve worked in all of them), but life should be joyful, too. Long live the arts.
That’s a wig right? I mean that’s gotta be a wig.
Agreed. No one’s hair gets to escape the reality of getting older. And I’m sure it didn’t come cheap.
I came on to ask the same thing, Susiecue. It never looks any different, seems always “perfect” (!), never looks as if it’s grown even a centimetre and never looks as if she’s had a trim. I guess that sort of thing is only for peasants.
Yes! When is she going to ban hair helmets?
Apparently it is not a wig. She has someone come to her house every morning to blow dry it. Talk about rarified existence!
Woah! I thought the pic was Taylor Swift! o_o
Anna’s daughter was right…they take fashion way too seriously.
There is a reason her nickname is Nuclear Wintour. She is so nasty she makes people cry on the job and she’s a notorious body shamer.
She has lost her touch as the power behind Vogue to a degree but the gala fashions are fun to dissect.
Vogue editorials and covers have become a bore and stale but she will never step aside willingly.
Moolander.
What did bruschetta ever do to her? 🙁
Do any of these people even eat at events like these..? Same with award show dinners. I shudder to think of the money spent on these extravagant dishes by top chefs that are not touched or picked at and then thrown away.
RIGHT?! I was offended by her banning bruschetta, it’s delicious leave it alone Wintour. So no onion, garlic or parsley which are some of the best condiments out there damnn.
I read a story about Sofia Vegara as the GG one year, breaking up a small cookie that was served (with coffee or whatever) and sharing it among the other Modern Family girls. It made me truly sad
Well, then, I won’t need to share my Pina Colada Tim Tams with her, after all!
My sister is like that. She likes garlic, but will not cook with or allow her family to eat anything with onions, garlic- even no coffee, because she thinks it all smells. You are also not allowed to talk above a standard tone (too loud), rub your socks on the carpet or “drag your feet” when you walk (does not enjoy the sound). She is…..terrifying and always has been. #CanIWalkOnTheseEggshells?
I honestly didn’t see your name before I posted! Timing…
Re: the noise stuff. She may have misophonia – I have it and it’s torment. Normal sounds people make disgust me to the point where I need to leave the room. Noone ever understands
So long as she also banned the pronunciation “broo-shet-a,” fine by me.
Pretty decent reasons to ban the parsley and bruschetta.
Is it just me, or reality TV or are fashion events usually always run terribly? I watched a season of ‘Kel on Earth’ and a few episodes of Rachel Zoe’s and I was astounded at how inept they seemed and yet were still in business. Granted this could have been because of editing or made up for TV. Did they seriously say they ‘underestimated the scale of the show’? YOU PLANNED IT. That shouldn’t be possible. Anyone ever worked one of these?
Because they hire people primarily for their looks and connections, not their skills or brains. If you want an army of skinny girls under the age of 25 with rich daddies, you’ll only get a small handful of competent people.
I used to work in an events planning company that hired a lot of military vets. Everything was run like a machine and we rarely had emergencies.
YES! Thank you for noticing, INeedaNap.
When the planning you do can result in unintended death and destruction, you spend a big part of your time developing (and being seriously tested on) high grade planning skills. Risk analyses are done for EVERY factor. And that’s just the enlisted folk–don’t get me started on the officers. Though you CAN get away with more errors if you’re an officer, I think because you are supposed to have your planning & assessments vetted by an upper enlisted before submitting up the food chain.
I met Anna last month at a special reception we held at our museum (she was the guest of honor after she donated money to help us with an expansion project – she was very generous!). And would you believe it? She was friendly, and interested. We talked briefly about textiles and fashion and (me quaking in my boots) she really surprised me. Yes, she kept her large Chanel sunglasses on the whole time and yes, my boss described her as “frosty” at times, but she is interested in some good philanthropic causes and seems to be doing more along this vein. Perhaps in preparation for an imminent retirement? (her long-time confidant at Vogue, Grace Coddington, recently announced her retirement!).
I worked doing large upscale fundraising events for 3 years and none of these things sound especially extraordinary. Seating arrangements for galas and dinners are a big deal whether it’s fashion people or charity donors. Making sure the menu accommodates the occasion– avoiding pungent food or things that easily spill are par for the course and it’s the details like these that make the experience better, whether people realize it or not. She’s successful for a reason!
I do like seeing behind curtain, how these things come together. Sure it’s fashion and they’re not curing cancer but anything worth doing is worth doing right. I just wish more celebs were playful with their fashion instead of the boring parade we usually get. Only a handful of celebs only ever seem to go all out with embracing the theme.
Much ado about nothing ,my bougie cousin had more demands at her wedding.
No bruscetta. Damn, way to kill a party Anna. I am alllll about the apps.
It’s called menu planning… What’s the big deal? Certain food are better than others for the event.
Some may call this frosty or nuclear but to me it reads like intense and unscrupulous attention to detail and obsession with perfection. Makes me think of Steve Jobs who was surely placed on a pedestal despite not being very nice to everyone.
These dresses cost an obscene amount of money and many are 1 of a kind works of art. Of course they don’t want bruschetta falling on one and ruining it.
Once having been a celebration of a freedom in design creativity, it is now merely a circle-jerk in being seen to be; with all necessary pretension attendant on that.
An unedifying exercise in ‘Emperor’s New Clothes’ – I side-eye anyone involved and laugh at their thinking of themselves as seeming avant-guarde or in the vanguard of fashion. They’re Establishment shills with pretensions.
For someone concerned with appearances to the point of spiritual emptiness, she really needs to do something with that hair.
The more I look at it, the more it looks like a wig.
It’s not just her hair. How can someone work in fashion and slouch like that while wearing a gown on a red carpet? Stand tall, woman! The dress hangs on her like it’s still on a clothes hanger.
Remember when Vogue was elegance and glamour? Now it is silly and cheap pop trash.
The trailer had a very funny and very indicative part when they complain about the price of having Rhianna there, but they pay it, and then she’s all trashy and street: “Wuzzup Meh-ball!”
ha ha – money’s worth?
The fashion is fun but as the years go by it seems like people deviate more and more from the theme….and these behind the scenes looks always make people look like insufferable snobs.