On Monday evening, as the Upper East Side braced for the annual spectacle that is the Met Gala, The Carlyle hotel once again served as a staging ground for fashion's most anticipated arrivals. For the uninitiated, this Art Deco landmark has long been a favored sanctuary for the industry's elite - its corridors echoing with the rustle of silk and the click of stilettos before the red carpet even begins. This year, the hotel unveiled a canary yellow carpet, a bold nod to the theatricality of the night, but for those of us attuned to lingerie history, the scene whispered of corsetry's enduring grip on couture.
Among the first to emerge was Jon Batiste, swapping a Superman tee for something more suited to the evening's theme - a reminder that even the most casual entrances are a performance. Then came the Saint Laurent procession, a house whose founder, Yves Saint Laurent, famously liberated women with the Le Smoking tuxedo in 1966, yet whose designs often flirt with the foundational layers of lingerie - lace, sheer panels, and boned silhouettes. Charli XCX led the charge, followed by Doja Cat, Rosé, and Kate Moss, each exit a study in controlled chaos. Amelia Gray Hamlin's exuberant "YSL, baby!" echoed off the limestone, while Charlotte Gainsbourg slipped away with the quiet efficiency of a nightgown in the morning light.
From the Prada and Miu Miu camps, Maya Hawke and Hunter Schafer made swift departures, their minimalist looks a contrast to the corseted opulence of Rihanna, who closed the evening at 8:30 p.m. - early by her standards, but no less commanding. Her Maison Margiela ensemble, a house known for deconstructing the very notion of lingerie via Martin Margiela's tabi boots and layered slips, arrived with a caravan of three Sprinter vans. It was a fitting finale for a night that, at its core, celebrates the interplay between structure and sensuality - the very essence of lingerie's role in fashion history.
Originally reported by WWD