One reason the Met Gala after parties are almost as famous as the Met Gala itself has to do with an incident that took place 10 years ago at the Standard Hotel in Manhattan’s West Village.
That night, Beyoncé headlined the red carpet at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, alongside her husband, Jay-Z, and her sister, Solange Knowles. Then, in an elevator car headed to the Boom Boom Room, the Standard’s top-floor club, Solange assaulted her brother-in-law while Beyoncé stood and a bodyguard tried to restore order. The security camera footage was leaked to TMZ and the Internet, and a family feud became a matter of New York social lore.
Things were less dramatic this year and less star-studded at the annual Standard after-party. Just after midnight, the most famous face at Boom was designer Christian Siriano, who had arrived with his date for the evening, model Coca Rocha. Connie Fleming, the hotel’s longtime concierge, reflected on the changes in the social atmosphere since the heady days of 2014.
“I think the Met Gala has peaked at its foundation of being about real fashion and real fashion people,” said Ms. Fleming, who became one of the trans community’s first stars in the 1990s when she walked the runways for by Thierry Mugler.
Ms. Fleming pointed out that a decade ago, in the era of the Solange-Jay-Z fracas, an appearance on the cover of Vogue was a key marketing tactic in launching an album.
“Now you can promote it on your freaking TikTok or Instagram,” said Ms Fleming, who was dressed in a lavender sequined dress by Marc Bouwer. “The balance of power and the balance of influence has changed.”
Mr. Bouwer happened to be on the dance floor, wearing a silver jumpsuit and an organza and ribbon headdress. “I’m vegan,” he said, as the DJ played a series of 90s house tracks. “I think wings are tough.” The designer added that he had dressed a Met Gala attendee: “Haley Kalil. He’s a YouTube superstar.”
Around 12:30 p.m., the room erupted when Jeff Bezos walked in with his fiancee, Lauren Sanchez.
Earlier, Ms Sánchez had appeared at the gala wearing a strapless corseted Oscar de la Renta gown and a balloon bottom adorned with what looked like shattered glass. For her appearance at Standard, she wore a jumpsuit that had paint stripes down the waist.
She was taken to a banquet near Mr. Siriano. But without many people to speak, Mr. Bezos and Ms. Sanchez quickly left.
Closer to the bar was singer Sam Smith, who wore a black suit adorned with a huge 24-carat gold rose. Who designed it?
“Him!” said Smith, pointing to their boyfriend, fashion designer Christian Cowan.
A few meters away was designer Pierpaolo Piccioli, who had recently left his position at Valentino. To Mr. Piccioli’s right was his daughter Benedetta. “My date,” she said, before making it clear she wouldn’t be giving interviews about what she was doing next.
Nor would he discuss the reasons for his departure from Valentino — though he did point out who had designed his daughter’s dress.
“Versace,” he said.
On the dance floor, singer FKA twigs wore a nude dress and danced to none other than Beyoncé.
A week before, FKA Twigs had made an appearance before Congress where she testified about the threat of deep fakes. Now he was hosting an official Met Gala after party.
“I feel very fortunate to be treated kindly and to be given spaces in different parts of the world to speak and express myself,” she said.
The crowd began to thin.
The Silencio Party
Another party was taking place at Silencio, an underground club on West 57th Street. Rapper Cardi B was the host. At 01:45 she still hadn’t arrived. So the most famous person in the room was, once again, Mr. Siriano, who was sitting with Ms. Rocha at yet another banquet.
While a DJ played vintage Dr. Dre, the waiters served chips with caviar.
“Where’s the girl?” said Mr. Siriano, referring to Cardi B.
She dropped in shortly after 2 a.m., having changed into a black tulle gown, the train of which had been carried up the Met steps by a group of more than half a dozen people. At Silencio, she wore a blush dress with a tapered bust reminiscent of Jean Paul Gaultier’s style of more than three decades ago.
If this dress was easier for Cardi B to manage than her red carpet creation, it still required a lot of cast to accompany her to the DJ booth so she didn’t have to cheer hoi polloi.
Almost everyone in the crowd pulled out their phones and took videos of Cardi B in the booth. Pushing her hair out of her face, she did some free styling on the mic to screams from the crowd.
Active host
By that time, Mr. Siriano and Ms. Rocha had already left the Usher-hosted affair on the roof of the Edition Hotel in Times Square. They didn’t stay long.
“In and out,” Mr. Siriano said. “It’s cute up there, but it’s hot.”
Usher’s party was packed with famous faces. The lineup included supermodel Naomi Campbell, actress and hip-hop legend Queen Latifah, singer Leon Bridges and actresses Taraji P. Henson and Tisha Campbell. There was also a power couple – actress Gabrielle Union and her husband, former NBA star Dwyane Wade.
By accident or design, many of the celebrity guests followed the same protocol: Greet Usher with a hug and make a beeline for the dance floor.
The stilt walkers parading the hall gave the party a circus feel and the hot dog carts gave a New York feel. Usher, who headlined the Super Bowl halftime show in February, was not one of those hosts who makes himself a flower and watches the proceedings from afar.
She joined DJ D-Nice on stage and danced to Mary J. Blige’s “Real Love.” He sang the lyrics to “Because of You” by Ne-Yo, who sang alongside him. He pulled designer Michèle Lamy into a circle dance to his song “Hey Daddy (Daddy’s Home).” And, along with actress and musician Janelle Monáe, he was part of an attentive audience for a magician who performed card tricks.
Usher compared the Met Gala to the Super Bowl in terms of its cultural influence.
“That’s why I’ve always admired it from afar,” he said. “You hope you’ve done something well enough and you’d like to be invited first. And then the rest of the world can see who and what you have to offer.”
Deeper into the wee hours of the morning, singer-songwriter Erykah Badu made her final grand entrance. Cameras swarmed her as she posed wearing a large brimmed hat and a black dress. When asked what the fuss was made of, she jokingly said, “It’s made of black women’s souls.”
Around 3am, Usher took his leave as Ms Badu danced her way out of the hotel and into a speeding van. Even at this hour, there were spectators gathered at a barricade. He gave them a wave.
Way Downtown
Another evening event took place at Casa Cipriani, a private club in the South End of Manhattan. There, New York nightlife maven Richie Akiva grabbed a microphone from the DJ booth.
“We’re just getting started,” he said at 2 in the morning
He called out to his famous friends in the crowd: “Teyana Taylor in the house, we see you! Shout out to my man Sam Smith in the building! I see you, Sam.”
DJ and music producer Kaytranada joined Mr. Akiva, playing a remix of Jay-Z’s “Show Me What You Got.” At a nearby table, Doja Cat, one of the party’s co-hosts, wearing an all-sheer outfit, eyed Vetements’ Guram Gvasalia. The two seemed to be everywhere together ever since they got together The debut on Instagram a few days ago.
At another table, Ms. Monáe and Serena Williams, both co-hosts, chatted and posed for photos. When Ms. Monáe and Doja Cat caught sight of each other, they screamed in unison. Then they danced and made fashion together.
Model Imaan Hammam, wearing a silver mini dress, said she was inspired by Carrie Bradshaw for her after party look. She had worn a dazzling gold top and matching maxi skirt to the Met Gala and now wanted “something more fun – something to dance to,” she said.
Model Alton Mason wore a white fur shawl — shirtless — with low-rise jeans, accessorizing his look by piling four silver chains across his bare chest. When asked to describe his mood, he had one word: “Sexy.”
“Actually,” Mr. Mason quickly added, “I want to change my word: luxurious. It comes from within.”
Throughout the night, models took cigarette breaks on a balcony overlooking a throng of people trying to get inside. “This is not a regular club night,” shouted a bouncer to the group of hopefuls. “If you’re mad, you’re mad.”
After 3 a.m., designer LaQuan Smith dressed in a white tank top and blue sequin pants. He said he had been to the Boom Boom Room, as well as a few other places.
“I’ve bounced around New York,” he said.
Was this his last stop?
He shrugged, as if to say he would see where the night would take him.