Met Gala, After Dark: Cigars, Hot Dogs and Haute Couture at The Mark and Beyond

Everything was coming up roses—literally—at one of the year’s most elusive and exclusive after-parties. Hundreds of them, velvety and red, clung to the walls of The Mark Hotel like fashion week veterans angling for a camera flash. And if Gypsy’s indomitable Mama Rose was anywhere in sight, she’d likely have been crooning from a fainting couch—or more realistically, Audra McDonald was upstairs icing her Tony-nominated vocal cords after a marathon night on the Met steps.

Meanwhile, Sabrina Carpenter made a rather cinematic return to The Mark, draped in a canary-yellow fur coat with a Vuitton bag to match, puffing on a cigar like a 1940s ingénue who just fired her agent. Nearly 60 celebs had used the five-star Upper East Side property as their glam-up ground zero—now it was back to basecamp for the real event: the unwind.

The dress code for the evening’s parties nodded to the Met’s spring exhibition, Superfine: Tailoring Black Style, and translated into something looser and lower lit—“tailored for you,” but with a looser hemline and higher hem.

By the time The Mark’s signature Haute Dog Cart was dishing out hot dogs and fries, stars were already doing outfit changes worthy of backstage quick rigs. Leon Bridges swapped his red-and-black pinstripe suit for a leather look and brown tee, sipping a cocktail charmingly called The Love Commandment beneath glimmering candelabras. Mini bottles of Don Julio 1942 dotted the room like lost earrings. Jenna Ortega, Taraji P. Henson, Shaboozey and Padma Lakshmi made appearances, with fashion designer Willy Chavarria hosting alongside stylist duo Wayman Bannerman and Micah McDonald.

Elsewhere uptown, Halle Bailey, Priyanka Chopra, Nick Jonas and Lupita Nyong’o migrated to The Standard High Line, where Burna Boy’s BOOM party pulsed under Grammy-winner Black Coffee’s spell. Shaboozey, ever the utility player, pulled a double shift, showing up here too.

Downtown, Janelle Monáe hosted her own bash outside the Public Hotel—her outfit a precise pastiche of French mime, disco debutante and art student rebellion. 7th Street Burgers was parked outside. Inside: Padma again, now joined by Questlove, Kandi Burress, Bebe Rexha and Christian Siriano. Everyone seemed to know where the fries were.

Further south, Richie Akiva’s usual spectacle at Casa Cipriani delivered its brand of curated chaos. Simone Biles was spotted dancing with NFL husband Jonathan Owens while Canes fried chicken—yes, fried chicken—circulated like caviar. Heidi Klum ditched her red carpet formalities for a sheer tank top and shades, as if auditioning for an early aughts indie film.

And finally, over at Zero Bond, Stella McCartney and Charlotte Tilbury toasted under a neon sign reading “Let’s Stellabrate Darlings!” while Anne Hathaway, crisp and camera-ready in a new blouse-and-skirt combo, smiled as Chris Rock and James Corden nibbled pizza off napkins nearby. Bombay Sapphire martinis came and went, which is more than can be said for some of the guests’ dignity.

Bach Mai, sharp in painterly monochrome, makes a case for black tie with a twist.

Sora Choi in sculptural tailoring.

Anna Sawai in crisp, white tailoring and a sweeping brim.

Deonté Lee/BFA.com Burna Boy flashes a diamond-clad grin.

Yvonne Tnt/BFA.com Dasha Polanco brought sparkle with precision—tailored, glittering and completely unfazed.

Yvonne Tnt/BFA.com Chance the Rapper leaned into quiet tailoring and a very lived-in bucket hat.

Styled like a hip-hop Banksy, Busta Rhymes made an entrance in a graffiti-tagged fur trench.

Ciara, sharp-shouldered and silver-haired, cuts a statuesque figure in monochrome silk.

Kim Kardashian cut through the crowd in a body-molded snakeskin corset dress.

FKA Twigs moved through the chaos with effortless elegance in a minimalist black slip.

Kerri Colby brought high drama and higher glamour in a crystal-studded corset dress.

Winnie Harlow brought full cabaret fantasy, striking a pose in crimson fringe, corsetry and a crown-like fascinator.