On the evening of May 4, the second shift had begun by the time the final guests of the Costume Institute filed down the steps of the Met. Fifth Avenue was lined with black SUVs. In hotel suites, stylists were waiting with half-zipped clothing bags. The real sorting—who goes where and, more crucially, who gets in—begins after the red carpet.
Observing this event every year gives the impression that the fashion industry’s social hierarchy is most transparent during the after-parties. The Costume Institute raised a record $42 million this year, and the guest list reflects that amount. The gala itself is a fundraiser. However, the after-parties are entirely different. Taste, proximity, and accessibility. A Met ticket is available for purchase. At two in the morning, you can’t buy your way into Cafe Zaffri’s back booth.
The Saint Laurent after-party is at the top of any fair ranking. Kendall Jenner’s arrival was photographed from every angle because Anthony Vaccarello hosted; by dawn, Ilya Savenok’s photo of Jenner appeared on almost every fashion website. It was a tiny room. purposefully so. Vaccarello has been in this business long enough to realize that the whole point is scarcity. Lisa from Blackpink showed up at The Mark Hotel on her own, which gives you an idea of how chaotic the evening becomes after the museum closes.
The GQ party at Cafe Zaffri within The Twenty Two is another. Due in part to GQ editor Adam Baidawi’s aggressive efforts to curate it more like a dinner than a club, this event has quietly emerged as the most sought-after ticket of the evening. Jennie was present. Naomi Osaka, Connor Storrie, who showed up wearing a tan blazer without a shirt and a cape that actually looked like something, and Chase Infiniti, who had just had her Thom Browne moment with its 1.5 million stacked sequins. He had never attended a Met before. His co-star from Heated Rivalry, Hudson Williams, was also included, though it appeared that he misread the brief because he was wearing white shorts under a tuxedo jacket.
This year, Vogue’s own orbit functioned on a different frequency. In subtle ways that no one has yet written about, Anna Wintour’s new position as chief content officer at Condé Nast altered the dynamic. Compared to previous years, Chloe Malle’s presence felt more significant. The post-gala Vogue events have always been the most difficult to map, in part because they take place in several townhouses and in part because no one who attends will tell you anything about them.
Cleanly ranking the third tier is more difficult. The Standard attracted its typical clientele, which was younger, looser, and closer to the music industry. Rauw Alejandro, Doechii, and Bad Bunny were seen going from room to room. The Hadid-adjacent group arrived when the Boom Boom Room reopened for the evening. Eileen Kelly reportedly completed what Vogue Business referred to as a “afterparty marathon,” which seems to capture the essence of what these events have evolved into: a circuit rather than a destination.
It’s difficult to ignore how much the after-party economy has changed from the enormous warehouse parties of the early 2010s to brand-hosted intimacy. A club of four hundred people is not as important as Vaccarello’s room of forty. It’s still unclear if that’s a true cultural shift or just the invitees’ current preferences. You get the impression that the most exclusive list of the evening was the one that was never published when you watch Beyoncé, making her first Met appearance in ten years, vanish into a private suite at the Carlyle at around one in the morning.The image is provided by the carpet. You get the ranking from the after-parties.
