6 May 2025 |
Laura Harrier and Zac Posen, Photo Credit: Getty Images.
He chats custom looks, red carpet rituals, and favorite memories.
It’s a rainy afternoon in New York, but that hasn’t dimmed the excitement for the first Monday of May. Zac Posen is getting ready to attend the biggest night of the year, at least for fashion people, and definitely not for the first time. The designer has been a Met Gala regular for years, dating back to 1997 when he was an intern for the Costume Institute. Fast forward to today and Posen will be walking up those iconic steps as the Creative Director of GapStudio with his guest Laura Harrier. The dress code? Tailored For You, based off of this year’s exhibit Superfine: Tailoring Black Style, which is a celebration of black dandyism across the last 300 years.
For the evening, Posen created a custom design made in the GapStudio for the actress and model, referencing Harrier’s personal story and the role fashion has played in her family’s life as it intersects with the night’s theme. During the design process, she brought in photos of her father, uncle and grandfather, who all expressed themselves through clothes, evoking defiance and the heritage of black dandyism. ”It’s this framing of human character, expression, rebellion at times, and identity,” he says. The result marks the first time the designer has created a trouser look for a woman on the Met Gala red carpet. It begins with a cinched white denim vest that features voluminous cotton organdy sleeves — a fabric commonly used throughout centuries to create volume in shirting. To complement, a pair of exaggerated, billowing pants made out of Italian duchess satin.
Zac Posen getting ready for the 2025 Met Gala at his NYC apartment.
As for Posen’s own custom outfit, designed in collaboration with Banana Republic, it’s inspired by the London Drape, a style that became popular in 1930’s England. The designer explains how this continental look – a suit, with a nipped waist, wide shoulders and pants – travelled across the Atlantic where it was interpreted as the zoot suit. Made with a beautiful indigo wool fabric that was also used for the shirt, bowtie, and cummerbund, the monochromatic palette served as the perfect complement to his date’s attire.
Given that Posen knows his way around a red carpet, what does he do before such a big event once the looks are sorted? He likes to take it easy and keep to a normal routine with work calls and emails. Only then will Posen begin his rituals to get into the right mindset. Starting with a Meder face mask and the Orveda omnipotent serum on his skin followed by a healthy and hearty chicken soup, the designer will then take a salt bath to relax before finally getting groomed by long-time collaborator Asami Matsuda.
As he’s about to head out the door to pick up Harrier, Posen recalls a few other moments that have stuck out in his mind. From dressing Claire Danes in a LED lit gown to creating a 3-D printed rose dress for Jordan Dunn to Uma Thurman “parting the seas” at the punk themed Met Gala, there have been many memorable ones. But when asked about his favorite memory, Zac says, ”I hope tonight!” Given the way the evening shook out, it looks like it was one for the books.
