The Met Gala, that annual pilgrimage to the altar of fashion, inevitably lands on a Monday. For most, the prospect of shepherding Hollywood's elite up those iconic steps would induce a case of the pre-Monday jitters. But for styling duo Wayman Bannerman and Micah McDonald - known collectively as Wayman + Micah - the eve of the industry's biggest night is a study in calm. Their third annual pre-Met fete, held this year at Boom atop The Standard High Line, was less a pre-game and more a masterclass in poised celebration.
"It's the biggest Monday of the year, but we're celebrating joy tonight," McDonald explained, as guests sipped custom Don Julio cocktails against the Manhattan skyline. "Wayman and I are very big on community." This ethos of ease, of gathering before the storm, echoes a long tradition in lingerie history: the 19th-century corsetiere who would host private fittings the night before a grand ball, ensuring the foundation was as serene as the final silhouette. Tonight, the foundation was pure revelry.
Colman Domingo, a longtime client, was the night's kinetic center, dancing from the VIP lounge to a clam-shaped stage, his fringed Palomo scarf top swirling like a liberated petticoat. He revealed his gala look would be a custom Valentino by Alessandro Michele - a house known, since its 1960 founding, for impeccable draping that often begins with the unseen layer. Chase Infiniti, meanwhile, played coy, holding a finger to her lips. Others, like the towering Harris Reed - whose avant-garde designs frequently reinterpret the structural drama of 18th-century stays and bustles - arrived late from an Anna Wintour dinner. "You have to have fun the night before," Reed said. "Being here takes the edge off." Here, the edge is softened not by a corset's release, but by the simple, sophisticated act of gathering before the curtain rises.
Originally reported by WWD