Met Gala Taps LeBron James, Lewis Hamilton, A$AP Rocky and Other Celebrities to Have a Role
The first Monday in May can’t come fast enough for millions of Met Gala watchers and this year’s lineup of co-chairs will surely meet their expectations.
The celebrity-populated event is the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s largest fundraiser and will double as a kickoff celebration for this spring’s exhibition “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” at its Costume Institute. Actor and playwright Colman Domingo, F1 racer Lewis Hamilton, A$AP Rocky, Louis Vuitton’s Pharrell Williams and Condé Nast’s Anna Wintour will do the honors for the May 5 extravaganza and the National Basketball Association’s LeBron James will act as the honorary chair.
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All of the above are well-versed in the fields of fashion and have been known to make runway show appearances — and we are not just talking about Wintour. Given that Williams is Louis Vuitton’s men’s creative director, it seems fitting the luxury powerhouse is making the exhibition and the gala possible. He joined the seven-time Formula 1 world champion Hamilton at The Met’s unveiling of theme of its upcoming show last fall.
Members of the public will be able to check out the exhibition between May 10 and Oct. 26. Guests at the Met Gala should have plenty of room to interpret the “Tailored for You” dress code, which is in line with “Simply Fine’s” suiting and menswear focus.
This year’s host committee also brings together talents from sports, entertainment, music, fashion and art, including Angel Reese, Simone Biles, Sha’Carri Richardson, Tyla, Usher, Audra McDonald, Rashid Johnson, Regina King, Spike Lee and Tonya Lewis Lee, Janelle Monae, Jeremy Pope, Grace Wales Bonner, Dapper Dan, Olivier Rousteing, Kara Walker, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and more. The evening’s menus is being handled by Chef Kwame Onwuachi and the artist Cy Gavin is overseeing the decor for the red carpet design. Derek McLane and Raúl àvila will craft some of the other decor aspects.
More funding is also being provided by Instagram, the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation, which was started by Mellody Hobson and “Star Wars” creator George Lucas, the Africa Fashion Foundation, which was founded by Dr. Precious Moloi-Motsepe, and the Perry Foundation. Condé Nast is providing additional support.
Wintour has been ringleading the Met Gala since 1995. The Condé Nast C-suiter, who was first named editor in chief of Vogue in 1988, has had other reasons to celebrate in recent weeks. Wearing an Alexander McQueen ensemble and a royal amethyst necklace, she was made a Companion of Honour by King Charles for her service in the fashion industry on Tuesday at Buckingham Palace. (In 2017, Wintour had been named a dame by Queen Elizabeth II. ) And last month Wintour received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Joe Biden at the White House along with Ralph Lauren, Bono and Denzel Washington among others.
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