Chioma Nnadi: This is The Run-Through. I'm Chioma Nnadi. Chloe Malle: And I'm Chloe Malle. This week we're bringing you behind the scenes of Vogue, which we often do but... Chioma Nnadi: Yes. Chloe Malle: I have to tell you, there's a difference in energy the... the few weeks before the Met Gala. People say, uh, April showers bring May flowers. Let me tell you... Chioma Nnadi: [Laughs]. Chloe Malle: April hysteria brings you one very big gala in these quarters. Chioma Nnadi: Yup. Chloe Malle: And... Chioma Nnadi: No lies told. Chloe Malle: Oh my God, [laughs]. Chioma Nnadi: [laughs]. Chloe Malle: And over the next couple weeks we are going to be giving you a little, uh, some... a foray into the Met madness. Chioma Nnadi: Yes. Chloe Malle: That has taken over the 25th floor of One World Trade Center. We have two weeks before the Met Gala and, Chioma, you had a very special trip to the Met that I would like to just hear a little bit about. Chioma Nnadi: Yeah, I did. I went to the Met this past week with a young designer called Clare Sullivan, who is designing a dress for me to wear to the Met which I'm very excited about. So I'm here in the Collections Room with the designer Clare Sullivan and Tracy Yoshimura [inaudible 00:01:05]. Clare tends to make sort of custom pieces, so I reached out to her and asked if she would be down to... to make something and she was. And, Clare, you have picked out several pieces. Describe what you're seeing right now? Clare Sullivan: Okay, well, I am in heaven. Chioma Nnadi: [Laughs]. Chloe Malle: [Laughs]. Clare Sullivan: That's what I'm seeing right now. Chioma Nnadi: What I didn't know is that they have hundreds of thou-... of... of thousands of pieces. Chloe Malle: Describe a little bit what's it's like down there, because I've been down there and it's really cool. Chioma Nnadi: Yeah. Basically, you can't touch anything. Everything is brought out with gloves. You sort of have to request the looks that you want to see. And Clare requested a couple of Chanel couture looks. Clare Sullivan: We're looking at some really amazing jewelry from Chanel that is wood with gold and we have a classic black and white ensemble that it pairs with. Um, the Chanel double-locked C logo on the... Chioma Nnadi: The tank top is everything. Clare Sullivan: ... the tank top. Chioma Nnadi: It's ribbed, it's just... Clare Sullivan: Yeah. Chioma Nnadi: It's beautiful. And it's from 1993? From... Clare Sullivan: Mm-hmm. Chioma Nnadi: She also requested this look, which was really classic Karl. This, um, like big tulle black skirt with a very simple tank top with the double-C logo. Chloe Malle: Yeah. Chioma Nnadi: And these white and black brogues and it was just divine. I think Naomi wore them on the runway. Chloe Malle: Oh, so is that gonna be the... Chioma Nnadi: Another 90s look. Chloe Malle: ... the inspiration look? Chioma Nnadi: I'm not giving it away. Chloe Malle: Secrets, secrets. Chioma Nnadi: Yes. But there are pearls and chains involved, that's all I'm saying. Chloe Malle: [Laughs]. Chioma Nnadi: I'm really excited. I... I've only done this once before, had a... had a custom dress made. Chloe Malle: What was that? Chioma Nnadi: That was for camp. Chloe Malle: Okay. Chioma Nnadi: And I wore Puppets and Puppets. The dress by... A dress and... and... and a little jacket that was kind of Barbie-pink, before Barbie-pink was a thing. Chloe Malle: You really anticipated that trend. Chioma Nnadi: I did, I did. And so it's really fun getting a dress made for you, trying on the toile, doing the final fitting. Chloe Malle: I just found out that I will be joining at cocktails for the Met. Chioma Nnadi: Amazing. Chloe Malle: So I am excited. As you know, I, um... I love an Erdem look. Chioma Nnadi: Yeah. Chloe Malle: So I... Chioma Nnadi: I think that's a good moment for this. Chloe Malle: I reached out. I'm... I'm sort of like a crow, I like anything shiny, so... Chioma Nnadi: [Laughs]. Chloe Malle: An Erdem sequin moment, I think is... is the direction I'm going. Chioma Nnadi: I think that... that will be a very nice way to honor the dress code. I think that Karl would appreciate that. Chloe Malle: It's a tough one for me. I'm not... Chioma Nnadi: I know. Chloe Malle: ... deeply steeped in, um, the Karl-o-sphere, so the dress code 'Dress in honor of Karl' is sort of like, okay, I'm familiar with, you know, vague Chanel tropes, but I... I... it's not like I... I can go deep into this. Chioma Nnadi: But it's not just Chanel, I mean he worked at Fendi, he worked for... Chloe Malle: Patou, right? Chioma Nnadi: Patou and Balmain. To sort of look at his oeuvre and think about all of the different kind of aesthetics that encompassed, and feelings and styles. I mean, I think people like to look to Chanel, but his... his... the breadth of his work goes beyond that, you know, as well. Chloe Malle: What's your favorite thing you've ever worn to the Met? Chioma Nnadi: Oh, actually this... this is... this will be the third time I had a custom piece. Chloe Malle: All right. Chioma Nnadi: So last year my friend, James Garland, made this really beautiful... Chloe Malle: Oh, that was amazing. Chioma Nnadi: ... dress. It was just like... it was the sexiest thing I've ever worn to the Met and it had kind of a matching do-rag that was encrusted with crystals. And I'm never one to show my arms but... yeah. Chloe Malle: You went for it? Chioma Nnadi: I went for it and it felt... it felt really... it felt really great. [Laughs]. That was my favorite look so far. It was... Chloe Malle: I loved that. Chioma Nnadi: Yeah, it felt really special. And I've... I've worn Molly Goddard. I think people always remember that look 'cause it was orange. All of my friends do anyway, not everybody. Chloe Malle: [Laughs]. Chioma Nnadi: The people I know [laughs]. Um, but yeah, I think the look I wore last year was kinda outside of my comfort zone but made me feel really great. I loved... I loved that dress. That might be my favorite so far. Chloe Malle: I had a couple of Mets, uh, misses in my outfits. Chioma Nnadi: Misses? I've never seen you miss. Chloe Malle: Uh, one year I wore... I truly looked like the villain in Black Swan. Chioma Nnadi: [Laughs]. Chloe Malle: I wore this amazing Alberta Ferretti dress but I was just t-... too small a person for it. And, uh, it had black, sort of iridescent black flo-... uh, feathers... Chioma Nnadi: Wow. Chloe Malle: ... just shooting up into my nose, shooting out, coming... Chioma Nnadi: [Laughs]. Chloe Malle: I mean it was a... a really absurd for someone 5'3" to be wearing this dress. And then I... one year I wore this Dolce & Gabbana dress that looked like a pinata exploded rhinestones. Chioma Nnadi: [Laughs]. Chloe Malle: I loved it. It was like putty-colored lace. Chioma Nnadi: Mm-hmm. Chloe Malle: And then embroidered with just hundreds of crystals of all different colors. Chioma Nnadi: Wow. Chloe Malle: And it was so much fun. And thank God I didn't look at the price tag before. After, when I took off the dress and I looked, it was a sample and I looked at the price and it was like $35,000 for this dress. Chioma Nnadi: Holy shit. Chloe Malle: It's... it was crazy. I was like, if I had seen this like... Chioma Nnadi: I mean that... is that expensive? Chloe Malle: ...that... that is the cost of a Passat. For a dress Chioma, you can get a car! Chioma Nnadi: Have you been... have you been online shopping lately? $3 000? Chloe Malle: 35. Chioma Nnadi: Oh, 35. I was like $3000, I was like ooh. Chloe Malle: You can't get a car for $3000. Chioma Nnadi: But $35,000? Chloe Malle: Yes, thank you. Chioma Nnadi: That's a lot. That's a lot. Chloe Malle: Yeah. Chioma Nnadi: That's a lot. Chloe Malle: Thank you. Chioma Nnadi: Yeah. Chloe Malle: What's the... I guess your Molly Goddard was maybe the most risky, would you... shall we say? Chioma Nnadi: Oh, there was one other time that I had a dress made for me, for the Comme des Garçons show. Clare Sullivan: Ooh, that was a tough dress code. Chioma Nnadi: Yeah, and it was like... kind of like if Disney... a Disney princess dress. Chloe Malle: Who made it? Chioma Nnadi: It was a co-design, so it was Raffaella Hanley of Lou Dallas and it was also a really legendary costume designer who lives at the Chelsea Hotel, her name is Nial Simlo [inaudible 00:06:29]. She does all of, um, Mariah Carey's looks. [laughs]. Chloe Malle: Amazing. Chioma Nnadi: Yeah, she's cool. And we did all the fittings at her apartment and she has crazy collections of Bar-... of Barbies. And then the day before when we did the final fitting she made a... a Barbie cake for me. Chloe Malle: Stop. Chioma Nnadi: Yeah. Chloe Malle: I'm sorry. Chioma Nnadi: A cake with like a Barbie... or maybe she ordered it, but it was... it was epic because it was my dress as a cake. Chloe Malle: That is fabulous. Chioma Nnadi: Yeah, it was... it was nuts. Chloe Malle: That would be more exciting to me than the actual dress. Chioma Nnadi: It was. It was really exciting and I still have the... I still have that dress, and... Chloe Malle: To be able to just gash my fork into... Chioma Nnadi: I know. Chloe Malle: ... like a dress of frosting. Chioma Nnadi: It was cool. Chloe Malle: And what is everyone at Vogue.com talking about this week? I'm so sick, I just got an email from Vogue.com... Chioma Nnadi: Right. Chloe Malle: ... and that's lovely... Chioma Nnadi: Right. Chloe Malle: ... but I am so sick of quiet luxury. I don't know what it means, I don't know why we care, it just sounds like it's a bag without a logo. Where did this come from? Is it just Succession? What's... what's happening? Chioma Nnadi: I think Succession has definitely made this a thing. I think, basically minimalism has been on the... on the rise. People love... I mean... and it hasn't gone away. You know, any time we do any story about minimalist dressing, it... it just really appeals to, I think, a certain younger... kind of there's this thing called 'the clean girl aesthetic' too that was on... Chloe Malle: Mm-hmm. Chioma Nnadi: ... that was big on TikTok. Chloe Malle: Okay. Chioma Nnadi: So I think there's always been this interest. This interest in minimalism never goes away. I think it's very, you know, for some reason people just really gravitate towards that. Chloe Malle: Says two people, one in a floral print. Chioma Nnadi: I know. Chloe Malle: One in... Chioma Nnadi: We... we're the opposite of the minimalist. Chloe Malle: ... fair isle. [laughs] Chioma Nnadi: Yeah. Why it has gathered speed, this whole stealth luxury thing, I think there are two... two reasons. Yes, Succession but I think this fascination with Gwyneth Paltrow's wardrobe. Chloe Malle: Ah, the courtroom style. Chioma Nnadi: The courtroom style. And just how perfectly executed her wardrobe was and how all of those choices was just... it was the epitome of like, stealth wealth. I don't know. Chloe Malle: Yeah, does it have to be expensive? Does it have to be Loro Piana or can it be Everlane? Chioma Nnadi: I don't... I... I think... I don't think it can be Everlane. I think that... I think it has to be something luxurious, right? Chloe Malle: I'm wearing Everlane pants right now. Chioma Nnadi: [Laughs]. Chloe Malle: And I feel like, paired with my Belgian loafers, they can be stealth wealth. Chioma Nnadi: [Laughs]. Chloe Malle: You know what else I think inspired this? Tar. It's tar dressing. Chioma Nnadi: Oh yeah. Quiet luxury was very about this whispering sense of, you know, everything being perfectly perfect but in a very understated way. It's The Row, you know? Chloe Malle: It's good tailoring. Chioma Nnadi: Yeah, it's good tailoring. Chloe Malle: So, um, I was hearing from the youth, i.e. our producer Chelsea, that, uh, TikTok was discussing how basically a lot of people at... there's split camp at Coachella. Chioma Nnadi: Oh yeah? Chloe Malle: There's either people who are like models, dressing truly like it could've been 10 years ago in like turquoise big belts and tiny boho shorts and, you know, dusters. And then there's, uh, Kendall and Hailey Bieber in all blacks, peddling their various... Clare Sullivan: [inaudible 00:09:26]. Chloe Malle: Entrepreneurial ventures. Like Kendall apparently is there pushing tequila, Hailey is there pushing Rhode skincare. Clare Sullivan: Oh my God. Chloe Malle: But I love this idea of like, they're... they're the modern Tupperware saleswomen. Clare Sullivan: [Laughs]. Chloe Malle: They're just showing up to Coachella with their wares. Chioma Nnadi: Yeah, I mean, Coachella street style to me is dead [laughs]. Chloe Malle: Yeah. Chioma Nnadi: Um, but I do think it's an... it's interesting to see... you know, I... I'm more excited to see what people on the stage are wearing. I love this new singer, Ethel Cain. Chloe Malle: Okay. Chioma Nnadi: She wore this cheerleader-inspired look that was made fr-... by Givenchy. Um, and I thought it was really... it was really a g-... a good look. And then Bad Bunny wore a cool, kind of ERL puffer on stage before he shaded Harry Styles. And, you know, I... I just think for me, I'm more... I'm more interested in what the performers are wearing. Chloe Malle: Yeah, I don't really care. Chioma Nnadi: I just don't... [laughs]. Chloe Malle: [laughs]. Chioma Nnadi: Fine, fair. Chloe Malle: The Run-Through will be back in just a moment. Now that we have hit our hits and misses of Met Gala's past, we would like to talk to the true experts behind making sure that every Met is a hit. We have Raul Avila, Jessie Nichols, and Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel, the people who are really the stationmasters making sure the train gets in on time on the first Monday in May. All right, team. Chioma Nnadi: Yes. Chloe Malle: Tell us- Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: Oh gosh. Chloe Malle: What the Met Gala was? Chioma Nnadi: Wait, don't we need to do the introductions? Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: [Laughs]. Chloe Malle: Oh yeah, sorry. I'm sorry. Chioma Nnadi: We need to... Chloe Malle: Okay, go ahead. Raul Avila: [laughs]. Jessie Nichols: [laughs]. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: We're ready. Chloe Malle: [inaudible 00:11:19] introductions. Chioma Nnadi: Okay. Chloe Malle: Eaddy, who are you? Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: I'm Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel, and I used to work full time at Vogue. But now I work as a consultant on the Met Gala in event production and fundraising. And I work very closely with my colleague, Jessie Nichols. Jessie Nichols: Yes, I am Jessie Nichols, and I'm the director of special events editorial for Vogue magazine. I'm very excited! And then here's Raul. Raul Avila: I'm Raul Avila. I'm, uh, in charge of the décor for the Met Gala since 2007. Chloe Malle: That's a long time, Raul? Raul Avila: Yeah. Chloe Malle: Wow. Raul Avila: I love it. Chloe Malle: But I wanna hear about everyone's first Met Gala. Chioma Nnadi: Oh that's a great question. Chloe Malle: I mean, we're not like breaking the mold here, but sure. Chioma Nnadi: [Laughs]. Jessie Nichols: [Laughs]. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: [Laughs]. I... I'm excited. Chloe Malle: Okay, Raul. 2007 was that Poiret? Raul Avila: Yes, Paul Poiret. Chloe Malle: Okay. Raul Avila: I honestly when... when Anna called me and told me the theme for that year, I, uh... I didn't know who he was. I said yes because I didn't want it to look like I know... I know her or whatever but... Chloe Malle: [Laughs]. Raul Avila: ... But then I went home and I did my homework and everything and I realized that he was not just a fashion designer, he was also an interior decorator. Chloe Malle: Mm-hmm. Raul Avila: And in that time in the early 1900s, he was fascinated with birdcages. So, to me, like every book that I saw about him, every print that I saw about him, everything, uh, factually displayed from his clothing, always was like a little birdcage in some corner. So that's the idea, how the birdcage for the Met Gala that year came from. Chloe Malle: Okay, but ta-... If people aren't familiar, tell us what... because this was no little birdcage. Raul Avila: No. Chloe Malle: Tell us why you're talking about? Raul Avila: Oh no. I'm talking about... I made a little one be like 20 feet diameter by 30 feet high. Chioma Nnadi: Wow. Chloe Malle: So it was 20 feet diameter, 30 feet high? Raul Avila: Yes. Chloe Malle: Just for... for peoples' reference, um, the center console at the Met Museum, in the middle of the... the Great Hall, which is usually this sort of information kiosk... Raul Avila: Mm-hmm. Chloe Malle: ... is removed for the Met Gala and that... Raul Avila: Well actually, it's not removed. Chloe Malle: Oh, it's not removed? Raul Avila: No. We cannot remove it. Jessie Nichols: Oh, you build around it? Chloe Malle: You build around it? Raul Avila: We have to cover and build the structure. Chloe Malle: Oh my gosh, I didn't realize that. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: I'm glad you think it was removed though. Chloe Malle: Yeah [laughs]. Chioma Nnadi: [laughs]. Raul Avila: Yeah. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: You did a great job, Raul. Raul Avila: No, because that place is just... they are [inaudible 00:13:30]. It can go... not go anywhere. Chloe Malle: Okay. Raul Avila: Yeah. Chloe Malle: That's always the site of Raul's most creative genius. Chioma Nnadi: Mm-hmm. Chloe Malle: Is there's usually a great center display that is very tied into and... and a great clue as to the theme... Raul Avila: Mm-hmm. Chloe Malle: ... and the different themes within the exhibition that year. Raul Avila: Correct. Chloe Malle: So Paul... uh, Paul Poiret, there was this 30-foot tall birdcage. Raul Avila: Mm-hmm. Chloe Malle: And can you tell us, um, a little controversy that happened with some... some peacock friends? Raul Avila: [Laughs]. Jessie Nichols: [laughs]. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: [laughs]. Chioma Nnadi: Oh, I heard about this. I heard about this recently. Chloe Malle: It's one of my favorite Anna Wintour stories [laughs]. Raul Avila: [laughs]. Jessie Nichols: [laughs]. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: [laughs]. Raul Avila: It was my first year and I wanted to do something completely different. And I don't know, I wanted to do something completely that no one's seen before. So the idea of the birdcage came out and then of course I have to go through many, many, many meetings with The Met for me to... Chloe Malle: What was it made out of? Raul Avila: Steel. Chloe Malle: Okay, wow. Raul Avila: It needed to be made of steel, it needed to be safe, it needed to be secured, it needed to be heavy so it stays in place. Chloe Malle: Mm-hmm. Raul Avila: And my other idea was to put, uh, peacocks inside. Real birds. Chloe Malle: Wow. Chioma Nnadi: Wow. Jessie Nichols: [laughs]. Raul Avila: But I didn't know that I needed to hire a professional handler to be able to put it in [laughs]. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: Oh my goodness. Chloe Malle: How many peacocks are we talking? Raul Avila: Two. Chloe Malle: Two peacocks. Raul Avila: I decided to do two because I wanted one white and one color. Chloe Malle: Okay, so you thought you could just put these peacocks... Raul Avila: Yeah. Chloe Malle: ... in their area... Chioma Nnadi: And just leave them. Chloe Malle: ... and they'd just be chilling? Raul Avila: They will be happy ever after. Chloe Malle: Okay. Raul Avila: But it was not the case. So, I mean, little did I knew then that, um, for them to be able to open the tail, the female has to be around them. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Chloe Malle: Oh my God, hilarious. Chioma Nnadi: Oh my goodness. Raul Avila: So then came... Chloe Malle: So in order for their... the big colorful peacock tail to be displayed... Raul Avila: Yes. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: They need to be inspired. Chloe Malle: They need to be... Raul Avila: Yes, aroused. Chioma Nnadi: Oh, hence pea cocking. Chloe Malle: ... excited. Raul Avila: You may say... [laughs]. Chloe Malle: Oh, pea cocking! Raul Avila: Yeah. Chloe Malle: Look at you! All right. Raul Avila: [laughs]. Jessie Nichols: [laughs]. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: [laughs]. Raul Avila: So they handler came, I hired him. I went through many meetings with The Met about the birds, blah, blah, blah. It was easier then, because there was not a lot of craziness happening in the world, so we decided to do this. And then the morning of the event, Anna always shows up like around 7:00, 7:30, just to be sure that everything's fine. Chloe Malle: A.M., for everyone. Raul Avila: A.M., yeah. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: Absolutely. Raul Avila: 7:00... 7:00 A.M. So she's like, "Okay, I'm coming in the morning to see everything.". I say "Okay.". I was certain it wasn't good enough because it was my first one. I knew Anna for a long time so I really had a great relationship with her. I was not intimidated, I was just really happy to be working with her and everything. So I was waiting for her and then the handler put the, uh, female in-... inside the cage and she flew away. Chloe Malle: Up into the cage? Raul Avila: No, outside the cage, into the galleries of the Met. Chloe Malle: [laughs]. Jessie Nichols: [laughs]. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: [laughs]. Chioma Nnadi: [laughs]. Raul Avila: When... when we saw... when I saw this... Chloe Malle: Wait, which galleries are you talking about? Give us a visual. Raul Avila: Oh, second floor with tapestries. Jessie Nichols: [laughs]. Raul Avila: [inaudible 00:16:25]. Chioma Nnadi: My God. Raul Avila: I... I honestly thought that my job was done, and like I would never see myself doing this ever again. This was my first and my last. Jessie Nichols: [laughs]. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: [laughs]. Chloe Malle: So who's chasing this female peacock? Raul Avila: Security from The Met [Laughs]. Jessie Nichols: Not Anna Wintour. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: Not Anna. Chloe Malle: I imagine her in Manolos, like clack, clack, clack, clack, clack over. Raul Avila: No, we both just waited. I was just like... I couldn't move because I was like, "Oh my God.". Like I was just so scared I didn't know how to do... I didn't know what to do, I didn't know what to say. Chloe Malle: Did she have an accident on any tapestries? Raul Avila: No, of course as soon as she got in, they opened their tails and it was just beautiful. Chloe Malle: Wow. Jessie Nichols: [laughs]. Raul Avila: So and then Anna and I, we just started laughing. I mean, she found it very funny. And I was like, "Oh my God, thank God she's laughing." [laughs]. Chloe Malle: [inaudible 00:17:08], I have a question, 'cause I'm imagining Anna at 7:00 A.M., showing up with her Starbucks. Raul Avila: Yes. Chloe Malle: And her glasses on and... Chioma Nnadi: Natural. Chloe Malle: What's happening at the Met at 7:00 A.M.? Raul Avila: Well, you know, we were working since the day before, all night long. Chloe Malle: You've been doing an all-nighter. Raul Avila: Oh yeah. Yeah. Chloe Malle: And are... are flowers in buckets at that point? Raul Avila: No. Chloe Malle: Are they already s-... a-... arranged? Raul Avila: By that point we are practically done. Chloe Malle: Oh wow. Raul Avila: Like at 7:00... from 7:00 to 1:00 is about just cleaning and being sure everything looks perfectly organized there. Chloe Malle: Because don't you need things to... Oh no, no one sees it for the press preview? Raul Avila: Yeah. Chloe Malle: Right, okay. Raul Avila: No one sees this except for Anna and her team. Chloe Malle: Okay, so basically you're almost done after pulling an all-nighter, you're like a baker, right. Raul Avila: Yes. Chloe Malle: Like the bread is basically cooked. Raul Avila: Yeah, yeah. I mean, I... I honestly, like, now I don't really sleep since Saturday. I'm up. Chioma Nnadi: Wow. Raul Avila: I'm up because it's not that I don't have the time to sleep it's just there's so much in my mind and there's so much to deal with and so many people to tell them what to do, we're moving here, moving there. And we're working in The Met, which is a museum. The regulations about what to do and when not, they're really severe so we have to really be on top of our game and be sure that everything runs smoothly. There's no room to make mistakes whatsoever. Chioma Nnadi: But when do you stop concepting it? Like... Raul Avila: Oh, right after the first one. Jessie Nichols: Yeah [laughs]. Raul Avila: After the last one. Chioma Nnadi: Oh my goodness. Raul Avila: So let's... let's say it's on May 1st, by June... Chloe Malle: The first day in May. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: Yeah [laughs]. Raul Avila: By June... by June I think we provided... Chioma Nnadi: So do you take a vacation after The Met? Raul Avila: I go home to sleep [laughs]. Chioma Nnadi: [laughs]. Chloe Malle: [laughs]. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: It's better than any vacation. Chloe Malle: So do you guys know how many exhibition themes out are you aware of so far? Like are you already thinking about 2024, obviously? Raul Avila: Definitely. Jessie Nichols: Definitely. Chloe Malle: Eaddy, what was your first Met? Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: My first Met was 2007 also, actually. Raul Avila: Oh really? [laughs]. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: I was working as an intern and someone... Jessie Nichols: How old were you? Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: Uh, oh gosh. Maybe 20. Chioma Nnadi: Wow. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: Uh, maybe a teenager and, uh, someone forgot their keys, so I, you know, dropped off some keys and, you know, helped with some very, very menial tasks. But it was definitely the most exciting night of my life. Chioma Nnadi: When did you start working on it from an events perspective? Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: Um, well in 2010, then I started as Anna Wintour's assistant and would help the events team. And then, I think it was 2013, uh, for Punk: Chaos to Couture... Raul Avila: Oh, I love that one. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: ... that I actually made it to the events department. That one was a big gala. That was 820 people. Chloe Malle: Oh wow. Jessie Nichols: Oh wow. Raul Avila: What! Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: Which is just enormous. Chloe Malle: What is this years guest list? Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: Well, it's funny, after the pandemic we shifted to... closer to 400 guests, and we ended up feeling it was just a better experience for everyone. So we're sticking with 400 but you know, maybe up a little bit from that. Chloe Malle: Intimate. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: Mm-hmm. Like some people get so swept up in the glamour of the red carpet, which is so exciting. But at the end of the day, the beginning of the day, the event is a fundraiser to support the Metropolitan Museum of Art, uh, and its Costume Institute. Which, the Costume Institute, you may know, is a... this incredible treasure trove of 30,000 fashion objects and it spans seven centuries. It's just amazing. And it's all housed in the Anna Wintour Costume Center. So at the end of the day we want to make sure we're raising the funds we need. Yeah. Raul Avila: Definitely. Chloe Malle: Well I... I just... I think that what a lot of people don't grasp is that the costume center uniquely at the museum, it's exclusively funded by this event. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: Yes. Chloe Malle: It does not receive funds from the rest of the museum. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: Right. Since Anna took the helm she's raised hundreds of millions of dollars for the museum. But last year we raised... just with tickets and table sales, we raised a record-breaking $17.4 million. Chioma Nnadi: $17.4 million. Chloe Malle: Oh my God. Chioma Nnadi: Yeah, it's a lot. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: And then additionally... Chioma Nnadi: [laughs]. Chloe Malle: [laughs]. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: ... many millions more through sponsorship. Chioma Nnadi: Jessie? Jessie Nichols: Yes? Chioma Nnadi: When was your first Met and what was your experience like? Jessie Nichols: Ooh, it was tricky because I joined the events team in 2020, which is when we had to cancel the Met due to the pandemic. Chloe Malle: Oh no. Chioma Nnadi: Oh my goodness. Raul Avila: You're lucky [laughs]. Jessie Nichols: [laughs]. Chioma Nnadi: What a start! Jessie Nichols: Yeah, that was so much fun. Chioma Nnadi: Originally I heard the Met was in November? Does... was that right? Jessie Nichols: I believe so, yes. Raul Avila: It was... yeah. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: The first... yeah, the first was actually De-... in December. Raul Avila: In December, yes. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: In 1948. Raul Avila: Yeah. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: It was started by Ellinor Lambert. Chioma Nnadi: Oh wow. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: Who was a fashion publicist. She actually started New York Fashion Week also. But she hosted a midnight supper in December, um, and she billed it 'the party of the year'. And then in the early 1970s, Diana Vreeland had actually just left her post, uh, as editor of Vogue, and she took on a consultant role with the Costume Institute. Chioma Nnadi: Got it. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: So she moved to the event to the museum and she started doing themes for the Gala every year based on the exhibition. And then in 1995, Mr. And Mrs. de la Renta had been working as trustees of the museum and they tapped our boss, Anna Wintour, uh, to take the helm. Anna revolutionized it. Chioma Nnadi: Mm-hmm. Raul Avila: Yeah. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: She... first of all she changed it. The date... Raul Avila: Yeah. Chioma Nnadi: [laughs]. Chloe Malle: [laughs]. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: The first Monday in May, which is what it still is today. And she created the guest list to be a reflection of the best of obviously fashion, but film and tech and sports and music. And she brought on Raul to see his... Jessie Nichols: Yeah. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: ... incredible installations come to life. Raul Avila: Yeah. Chloe Malle: I think everyone has such curiosity about how the invitations work and just in whatever vague way you can, can you just explain to people, can anyone buy a ticket to The Met Gala. Jessie Nichols: Mm-hmm. Chioma Nnadi: Mm-hmm. Chloe Malle: Does everyone pay for their tickets? Or it's sold individually or by table? Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: We have a number of typically brands and a few individuals who have been so supportive over the years. And that's always a challenge too as the numbers are reducing, we're tryna be really thoughtful about honoring the people who've... who've given because it's very much a process of building trust. You can't just come in and... and just make a large donation and attend. But typically the brand will host either a table or buy tickets, um, and then they'll propose... we don't have many executives at the event, we have some incredible business leaders but it's really a celebration of creative talent as well. Um, and it's not the kind of thing where a celebrity will come with a bunch of handlers and, um... and entourage. Uh, which I think makes for a much more fun environment. Chioma Nnadi: Yeah, it's much... it's so much more intimate. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: Yeah, yeah exactly. Chioma Nnadi: Yeah, I mean who's getting a pl-... they're not getting a plus one. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: Yeah. Chloe Malle: [laughs]. Chioma Nnadi: And when does that process start? When do you start kind of working out, curating the... the kind of... a table. Jessie Nichols: September? Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: Yeah, September. Chloe Malle: Wow. Chioma Nnadi: So it's quite far out. Jessie Nichols: It is, yeah. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: I would say it really gets kicking in December, January. Jessie Nichols: Mm-hmm. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: But initial conversations sort of percolating in September. Chloe Malle: I'm just curious about li-... like the fires that come up. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: Yeah. Raul Avila: Mm-hmm. Chloe Malle: And what are... like what are the most challenging parts of planning? Raul Avila: We work in a museum and... and the challenge for us is that there's so much art everywhere. Chloe Malle: Mm-hmm. Raul Avila: And I have, you know, almost... well I can't say it in quantities, but I have a lot of people working through the night. And you know, we working, you know, 20, 24 hours a day, you tired, you know. So I always tell people just be... be very, very careful with everything. Look around you, where you're walking, where you're going 'cause you know, accident happens and the last thing i want is something to get broken or damaged. So the challenges for us is just really crazy because of the museum and also they watching us like... I mean like they watching every movement that we do. Chloe Malle: [laughs]. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: [laughs]. Chloe Malle: Well and there's some things that maybe you wouldn't li-... l-... you know, laymen like us wouldn't think of like... Raul Avila: Yeah. Chloe Malle: Give us an example of how many flowers you're bringing in on a typical year. Raul Avila: Well let me... let me tell you something. Before... Chioma Nnadi: Yeah, let's do it by the numbers. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: [laughs]. Raul Avila: Yeah, before... before flowers, we used to bring live trees. Chloe Malle: Right. Chioma Nnadi: Live trees? What! Raul Avila: Which they have roots and everything. Chioma Nnadi: Oh my God [laughs]. Raul Avila: And they realized that no, you cannot bring live element like that into a museum because little things come out of the roots and... Chloe Malle: That's what I was gonna ask about. Chioma Nnadi: That makes sense. Raul Avila: ... make their way to places where they need to go or things like that. But we of course... we get in from the greenhouse everything. They're in the greenhouse for months. We, you know, spray every chemical we can without killing the tree. Chioma Nnadi: [laughs]. Chloe Malle: [laughs]. Raul Avila: So be able to be safe to go into the night. But even with that it was always a problem. Chloe Malle: Well and I know that you've had to inspect every individual flower... Raul Avila: Yes. Chloe Malle: To make sure there's not a bug that could potentially harm. Raul Avila: Exactly. Exactly. Chioma Nnadi: Wow. Raul Avila: There was one... Chloe Malle: Uh, and we're talking 250 000 flowers? Raul Avila: More or less. Jessie Nichols: [laughs]. Chioma Nnadi: [laughs]. Yeah. Can I just add that Chloe use to be... used to guest edit The Met special edition so she... Chloe Malle: We did a Met Special Issue every... every year. Chioma Nnadi: So... Raul Avila: Yes, I remember that. Chloe Malle: We get here at... Chioma Nnadi: So Chloe knows all this back to front. Chloe Malle: 3 A.M. Raul Avila: I remember that. But I... I [inaudible 00:25:32] if those number come from your [inaudible 00:25:33]. Chloe Malle: Okay. Chioma Nnadi: [laughs]. Chloe Malle: [laughs]. Raul Avila: [laughs]. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: When you were talking about the fires that come up, I feel like every year there's a call we get that's usually right around this time and it's something so just crazy, where we're like, "okay, we have to find a way to make this work but what are we gonna do with this?". And one year, it was actually 2019 when we were celebrating Camp, we got a call from Sofie Paybrook, our colleague who works with us... Chloe Malle: Mm-hmm. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: Who's wonderful and she said, "All right, just bare with me, Jeremy Scott is designing a chandelier for Katy Perry to wear.". Chloe Malle: Oh, I remember. Raul Avila: [laughs]. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: "It weighs 50 pounds and it's 48 inches wide.". Jessie Nichols: Oh my gosh. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: "So we need to find out how wide the museum doors are.". Jessie Nichols: Oh my God. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: "Because it's probably not even gonna fit inside the freaking doors of the museum.". Chioma Nnadi: I mean, no going to the bathroom. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: Yeah, yeah. Forget about it. Um, fortunately she had a cheeseburger that she could change into [laughs]. Chloe Malle: [laughs]. Chioma Nnadi: Oh I do remember this, very clearly. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: But, uh, we... the museum doors... Chloe Malle: So who had to go... you had some poor museum employee had to go with the tape measure? Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: Yes. And the museum doors are 50 inches wide. Chioma Nnadi: Good to know. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: Which is good because I think the chandelier was actually 48.5 inches so... Chioma Nnadi: So she had to [inaudible 00:26:41] in. Chloe Malle: She had half an inch to get inside. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: So she could shimmy in. Chioma Nnadi: Oh my gosh. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: But there's always something like that and we have not gotten the call this year, knock on wood. But I'm... we're waiting for it. Chloe Malle: Well I remember there was, um, a... a very dramatic call... Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: [laughs]. Chloe Malle: I can't remember what year, uh, re-... regarding the invitations. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: Oh yes! Jessie Nichols: [laughs]. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: Oh God, what year was that? Chloe Malle: Could you just tell me a little bit about that. Jessie Nichols: I feel like it was like... Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: They all blend together. Chloe Malle: That must've been 2015, or 16. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: Okay, that sounds about right. Yeah, gosh. Jessie Nichols: [laughs]. Raul Avila: [laughs]. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: Talk about lessons learned [laughs]. Chioma Nnadi: [laughs]. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: Um, the invitation send out is a very lengthy involved process and takes the span of a few days. And over the course of a few days we had not labeled them properly while we were storing them overnight and they got thrown away [laughs]. Chioma Nnadi: No. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: And these are extremely expensive... they take weeks to produce. Chloe Malle: So the invitations, they're beautiful... Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: Yeah. Chloe Malle: ... printed, letter-pressed, um, invites. They're all in cardboard boxes. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: Right. Chloe Malle: That were mistake for trash by... Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: Right. Chloe Malle: ... housekeeping. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: You're right. Jessie Nichols: Oh no. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: We had... to be fair, I think we had not labeled them properly and we ended up having to send someone to the New York City Town dump to try and, you know, dig through... Chioma Nnadi: Stop it! Raul Avila: No! Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: And the... and... Chioma Nnadi: I did not know that. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: It was a... a young woman named Lindsay... Chloe Malle: [laughs]. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: And she was a very good sport. Chioma Nnadi: Oh my God Lindsay. I love Lindsay. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: She's this very cute, um, petite blonde woman who, like Melanie Griffith, took the ferry to Staten Island to the dump. Chloe Malle: [laughs]. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: And had to stand with a hardhat looking into the dump saying, "Uh, where are my invitations?". Chioma Nnadi: Oh God. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: Guess what... Raul Avila: She found it? Chloe Malle: No! Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: ... we were not successful. Chioma Nnadi: How are you supposed to... yeah. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: Spoiler alert. Chioma Nnadi: Yeah, I mean, needle in a haystack. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: She was a really good sport. Raul Avila: Wow. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: But again, lessons learned. Jessie Nichols: Every year we're reminded of that story. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: Yeah. Jessie Nichols: And we label it. Chloe Malle: I know, I just walked by there last week and I was like, "Oof.". Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: [laughs]. Jessie Nichols: Yes, you will keep the box open and put a very large sign. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: Yeah, we have PTSD. Jessie Nichols: Yes. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: Exactly. Chioma Nnadi: That is wild. Raul Avila: [laughs]. Chloe Malle: What are some of your favorite moments? Like I feel like once dinner starts, you can sort of breathe a sigh of relief a little bit. Chioma Nnadi: Can you? Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: [inaudible 00:28:45] yeah. Jessie Nichols: Totally, yeah. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: [laughs]. Chloe Malle: And then there's the musical performance. Like what are some of your favorite moments to look forward to of the night? Raul Avila: My favorite is seeing the faces of everybody who is invited when they walk into the [inaudible 00:29:00]. Chloe Malle: Ah, it's magical. Raul Avila: When I... people walk in and they're jaws drop on the floor and they're like... the excitement, uh, that makes me very, very happy [laughs]. Jessie Nichols: Mm-hmm. I think the performance is always fun for me. Chioma Nnadi: Favorite performance? Raul Avila: [inaudible 00:29:12]. Jessie Nichols: Heavenly bodies. Chioma Nnadi: Oh Same, same. Jessie Nichols: It was so much fun. Chloe Malle: Was that Madonna? Chioma Nnadi: Madonna. Jessie Nichols: Madonna. Chioma Nnadi: Coming down the staircase. I almost died. Jessie Nichols: It was so cool. Chioma Nnadi: And the [inaudible 00:29:21]. Jessie Nichols: Yeah. Chioma Nnadi: Ah. Jessie Nichols: At the time I was Anna's assistant so I was just standing like front row, just like cheesing so hard. I was like Jessie, act like you've been somewhere before. Chioma Nnadi: [laughs]. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: [laughs]. Chloe Malle: [laughs]. Jessie Nichols: [laughs]. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: You work at Vogue girl. Chloe Malle: Wait, I feel like we don't talk about how the seating chart comes to be 'cause that's its own... Jessie Nichols: Oh, Eaddy's the mastermind there. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: [laughs] stop. Raul Avila: Oh yeah, that's Eaddy's, uh... Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: Actually, we were just talking about it because Sasha in our... on our team is so brilliant at knowing everyone's former flames. Chioma Nnadi: Oh that's [inaudible 00:29:51]. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: She was just saying... what's a good point to highlight some of the exes. And we're like, Sasha please, tell us immediately, we need to know. [laughs]. Chioma Nnadi: [laughs]. Oh my God, I'm gonna go to her as a resource. I'm... I'm [inaudible 00:29:58]. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: Oh, she's really good at it. Jessie Nichols: Oh my gosh. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: Within the week. Chloe Malle: It goes beyond Selena and Hailey? Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: Oh my gosh, it's... [laughs]. Chloe Malle: [laughs]. Raul Avila: [laughs]. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: No, there're... there're certain gentleman in the room where I'm thinking, "Gosh, you've dated quite a lot.". Chioma Nnadi: Gentlemen [laughs]. Chloe Malle: Tell us a little bit about your... you board. Your master plan. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: The boar-... so the board, uh, it's quite enormous. It's probably would take up half the wall. Chloe Malle: Half of this wall, yeah. It's a poster board. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: Yeah, exactly. Yeah. It's a poster board, um, really tough poster board. Chioma Nnadi: Is it what I saw upstairs in the... in the conference room? Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: Probably 'cause... Chloe Malle: You didn't see anything Chioma. Chioma Nnadi: I didn't see anything, it was turned around. Chloe Malle: [laughs]. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: [laughs]. Chioma I'll have to kill you. Chioma Nnadi: I wasn't peeking but I did... I was like, that is a big board to have in a small conference room. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: Well it always makes me laugh because towards the end we'll be bringing the board through the museum because we're taking our meetings. Chioma Nnadi: And there's a poster there saying, "do not enter" right? Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: Yes. Chioma Nnadi: I think something like that. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: It'll be... yeah. Chioma Nnadi: We have noticed. Chloe Malle: [laughs]. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: We'll be bringing the board through the museum but it... we cover it, you know, in some sort of chic, uh, cloth and... Chloe Malle: [laughs]. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: ... the guards will always stop us to check underneath. And we realized ultimately it looks like we're stealing a painting or something. Chloe Malle: [laughs]. Chioma Nnadi: [laughs]. Raul Avila: [laughs]. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: Like hiding... yeah. Chloe Malle: That is so funny. Chioma Nnadi: No, that is hilarious. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: We're like, "No, just the seating chart.". Chloe Malle: Well guys, thank you so much. Chioma Nnadi: This was so fun! Jessie Nichols: Thank you so much. Chloe Malle: [inaudible 00:31:03] our prayers are with you the next, uh, the next couple of years. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: Thank you. Chioma Nnadi: Yep, thinking of you. Jessie Nichols: Thank you [laughs]. Chioma Nnadi: A month out. Raul Avila: We will... we will [inaudible 00:31:08], thank you. Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel: Power through. Chioma Nnadi: Book a massage now. That would be my advice. Chloe Malle: Smart, exactly. Jessie Nichols: Oh, there we go. Chioma Nnadi: Yeah. That's it for this episode of The Run-Through. The Run-Through at Vogue is a production of [inaudible 00:31:21] entertainment. Chloe Malle: The show is produced by Suzie Lechtenberg and Chelsea Daniel. It's engineered by Jake Lummus and Gabe Quiroga and mixed by Mike Kutchman.