Where the Met Gala Really Begins
Key takeaways
- But few have seen the T.S.A.-level machinations behind the deployment of the overdressed guests from their staging areas to the museum’s steps.
- “Everything is timed!” Maria Wittorp, the hotel’s head concierge, said, with the haste of an auctioneer, standing in the lobby, as blazer-wearing staffers whipped by.
- “This is my first one,” a Mark sales executive named Cher Liu said.
Photograph by Eduardo Munoz / Reuters Save this story Save this story Save this story Save this story By now, half the world has registered an opinion on Kylie Jenner’s nipple-forward Venus de Milo homage or the clipper ship perched on Madonna’s head at this year’s Met Gala. But few have seen the T.S.A.-level machinations behind the deployment of the overdressed guests from their staging areas to the museum’s steps. The Mark Hotel, on Seventy-seventh Street and Madison, was a center of the hubbub, with a hundred and fifty-three rooms and suites booked out to various glam squads.
“Everything is timed!” Maria Wittorp, the hotel’s head concierge, said, with the haste of an auctioneer, standing in the lobby, as blazer-wearing staffers whipped by. “We only have someone come down when their van is ready.” Wittorp, who has worked the event six times, channelled the gala’s dress code (“Fashion Is Art”) by wearing a pair of bug-eye glasses. “They’re Alain Mikli,” she said. “Elton John has worn his designs.” She raced off, gripping an orange clipboard.
“My radio is out. Wait, I think it’s my earpiece.”