On Friday evening, hordes of fans camped out against the bright lights of Times Square beside Madame Tussauds on 42nd Street. Who, exactly, they were waiting for was unclear. But Vogue’s guest list for its annual First Friday party—the quintessential Met Gala weekend kickoff—would ensure they weren’t disappointed. Upon arrival, those who were whisked past security did a double take as a silver crown-clad Beyoncé greeted them. It would be the first of many, many jump scares of the night within the rooms of the waxwork museum.
Hosted by Chloe Malle, Teyana Taylor, and Simone Ashley, the cocktail party was a welcome excuse for most to check out the kitschy tourist attraction for the first time. “I’ve definitely never been here—I mean, have any of us,” said Michael Kors, the most New York designers of all the New York designers, in the elevator.
After checking their coats under the watchful eye of a faux Annie Leibovitz, a crowd of designers, models, photographers, stylists, and editors caught up and chin-wagged about their weekend plans. Baz Luhrmann snapped pictures of a friend with Leo DiCaprio’s doppelgänger, Gabbriette and Sombr took turns posing underneath Timothée Chalamet’s twin’s umbrella, and Paloma Elsesser darted towards a lookalike Mariah Carey perched on a Christmas-style backdrop. All the while, carbon copies of Kris and Kendall Jenner, Brad Pitt, Alicia Keyes, and Rihanna and Kim Kardashian in their Met Gala outfits of yore looked on.
Nodding to the Costume Institute exhibit’s upcoming exploration of how the human form is depicted and portrayed through the lens of fashion, the night’s dress code was Bodies, Bodies, Bodies. Nina Dobrev dialed into the theme in a fishnet knit Gabriela Hearst number. Chloe Malle went the corsetry route in McQueen, Irina Shayk donned sculptural Issey Miyake, and Georgina Rodriguez wore a bondage-inspired Ludovic de Saint Sernin that was coincidentally modeled on the runway by Paloma Elsesser.
As for Elsesser, she dusted down a look from Comme des Garçons Spring 1997—aka the seminal “lumps and bumps” Body Meets Dress, Dress Meets Body collection. “I just had this in my closet; I didn’t even need to find anything,” the supermodel laughed. There was also trompe l’oeil and panniers a’plenty, while tv personality Ciara Miller opted to go scintillating and sheer. Author Sarah Hoover, in Tanner Fletcher, reunited with the designers and joked that she had to call three Ubers before her hoop-skirted dress could properly fit in one.
At the bar, the cocktails tipped their hat to the dress code too, with Waisted Cosmos and the Body Electric being whipped up. As everyone is talking about Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop Kitchen finally opening in New York, partygoers were only too willing to sample everything on the menu as trays of the health-focused food did the rounds. Drinks and snacks in hand, guests also rambled around the seventh floor hallways and explored a Google Try On activation, utilizing AI to see themselves in archival couture and runway looks.
As the party wound down, rumors of karaoke emerged—when in Times Square! For everyone else, it was time to head home and get their beauty sleep. After all, fashion’s biggest night is just hours away.
The Vogue First Friday party was presented by Google and Uber Eats, with additional thanks to the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre.