Secrets from the fashion Oscars
It’s the biggest event in the fashion calendar, but what’s the Met Gala really like behind the scenes with the A-list? Guest Sofia Sanchez de Betak reveals all to Grazia
the met gala is the most glamorous event on the fashion calendar, but that doesn’t mean its A-list guests know how to let their hair down. According to Sofia Sanchez de Betak, the Argentinian designer and influencer who attended the event at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art last week, the assembled were too cowed to give Cher, the evening’s entertainment, a standing ovation. ‘I was sitting with very famous people. When Cher started dancing, I was like, “We need to go to the front!” and everyone said, “Err, no. I’m not a big dancer.”’ Sofia says it’s because the event and its host, the high priestess Anna Wintour, generate a feeling of ‘selfconsciousness, fear and respect’, hence why her table stayed in their seats. ‘It was crazy that no one dared to stand up and dance. Cher’s an icon and no one is giving her any energy. She looked at me and I looked at her and we danced together for one second,’ Sofia says. ‘I can die in peace. I had the best Met ever because I danced with Cher.’
Sofia’s gown, a tiered confection made of sunset-coloured taffeta, was perfect twirling material – and from Mango. That’s right. Sofia went to the ball in high street. She was initially taken aback by the brand’s concept for the ‘Camp: Notes on Fashion’ theme. ‘The stylist’s proposition was to dress me like a mango. I was kind of like, “What the…? I’m not sure if I want to walk the Met Gala red carpet being a mango.”’ Something turned out right. Not only did she look like an incredibly chic interpretation of the exotic fruit, but Céline Dion complimented her dress, which is available to buy as part of a wider Mango x Met Gala collection from 3 June. ‘I love the look and thought it was one of the coolest, smartest concepts,’ says Sofia.
How did she feel wearing high street to fashion’s equivalent of the Oscars? ‘It was very empowering,’ she says immediately. ‘When you’re wearing a very chic dress with no sense of humour and someone steps on it or you spill a drink on it then you don’t really enjoy the evening.’ She speaks from second-hand experience. ‘The high-profile guest next to me looked stunning, but was texting her PR saying, “I need to get rid of half the dress. I can’t move.”’
Another pinch-me moment was walking the red carpet behind Lady Gaga (she co-chaired with Harry Styles, Gucci’s Alessandro Michele and Serena Williams), whose shocking pink Brandon Maxwell gown was transformed into four separate looks as she paraded with typical pomp and ceremony. ‘I had an incredible front row moment when she was going up the stairs into the Met with like 20 assistants. It was fascinating,’ says Sofia. The whole carpet, incidentally, is a military-timed operation. You arrive at your allotted time slot, walk the red carpet, give interviews, air-kiss fellow guests and ascend those hallowed stairs in roughly 10 minutes. In fact, it’s all over rather quickly, considering that tickets are $35,000 a pop – for those who pass the US Vogue editor’s approval. ‘With Anna, I always forget, you only get a main course and dessert. She doesn’t do appetisers, so you sit down, you eat and you get up,’ says Sofia.
Still, you can always rely on the Met Gala bathroom to deliver a meet-cute. ‘I had a beautiful moment with Penélope Cruz,’ says Sofia. ‘I opened the door quickly and she was there. I was like, “Penélope!” Whatever I said in Spanish came out quite funny. She kind of laughed about it.’ The fangirling didn’t stop there. ‘When we were leaving, she was standing in front of a car and I felt like I was stalking her. I got nervous and started saying, “I’m not actually stalking you, but I do have a crush on you.”’