Our Met Gala predictions 🔮

+ share yours in the group chat! 💬

Doechii, Ayo and Colman at Vogue’s pre-Met Gala party. Prediction: these three will be some of today’s best-dressed. Photo / Vogue

Happy Met Gala day to all who celebrate!

Political nepo baby Jack Schlossberg recently called it a “PATHETIC EVENT FOR CORPORATE SLUTS” while announcing his boycott of the event; I cackled. The Met Gala has become a parody of itself, and its excess does feel grotesque in a time of genocide and a global slide into fascism.

But Jack’s timing misses the mark. This year’s theme is a high-profile celebration of Black style and designers (“how one’s self-presentation is a mode of distinction and resistance — within a society impacted by race, gender, class, and sexuality”; HELLO!!), which feels like a significant focus as the U.S. administration attacks D.E.I. initiatives and embraces racist rhetoric. The exhibition has also been years in the making, a seed planted in 2020 following the murder of George Floyd. This all deserves to be celebrated.

Justifying the cost and optics of the Met Gala has become an annual ritual for me, especially in previous roles in mainstream newsrooms where I’d run live blogs and provide commentary. Those days were fun, if intense: the pressure to be live and lively, and to speak to a mass audience that largely turns its nose up at fashion, the arts and anything that’s not a strapless gown. Yes, I have some trauma from that!

So this year I’m excited to be covering the Met Gala for Ensemble with gossip queen Rebecca, alongside Dan Ahwa and Emma Gleason, my fellow fashion nerds and veterans of live red carpet duty.

And by ‘covering’, I mean watching the Vogue livestream and bantering about it in our Substack group chat with you, miles from Manhattan.

Let’s not be humble: this is a powerhouse team! We’ll be doing it our way: respectful, brainy, lighthearted but not inane, slightly chaotic, lots of fun.

So join us in the Substack chat NOW for a fun, fashion-filled morning — you can access it via the Substack app or on desktop. And keep an eye out for our Met Gala favourites, dropping later this afternoon.

Our quickfire Met Gala predictions:

Zoe: It will be the most elegant red carpet in years. Best-dressed: Colman Domingo, Jeremy O.Harris and Doechii. There will be multiple tributes to Andre Leon Talley. There will be too much Louis Vuitton (they’re a sponsor). Lorde will attend. ‘Dandy’ will enter the mainstream style lexicon much like ‘camp’ did after the 2019 Met.

Rebecca: Kimmy K will be unusually subdued because Kylie is going to walk the red carpet with Timmy for the first time (only to have their spotlight stolen by RiRi who will arrive late and reveal she’s pregnant).

Dan: Colman Domingo will wear something that I’ll want to wear. The theme will be the perfect platform for Latin brands to be celebrated too, and someone will wear one of the many relevant tailored looks from Mexican brand Campillo. I predict — and hope — that someone will wear a custom suit from one of the many brilliant Black tailors in Harlem.

Emma: Ayo Edebiri will debut a Dior menswear look by Jonathan Anderson, A$AP Rocky and Rihanna will be there on time this year, and everyone will be taking selfies in the bathroom again. Zendaya will wear vintage Ann Lowe.

Holding on to (and letting go of) the things that remind us of home

⁠Like many New Zealanders of a certain age, Paris Blanchfield has lost a large number of friends to foreign shores in recent years — and has herself made the move to Europe via a stint in Australia. With that travel comes the need to curate your collection of belongings, culling them to whatever fits into two large suitcases — and inevitably being confronted with your relationship with *things*.⁠

As the 'brain drain' continues, Paris takes a deep dive into sentimentality and reflects on the keepsakes that people take with them.

You need a zip-up hoodie, like Lorde and Addison Rae

Honestly, they’re everywhere once you start looking. We’ve pulled together a few to shop locally, so you can have the coolest, comfiest winter ever.

My mother, my self: What she taught me about style

Resharing this sweet story from our archive, ahead of Mother’s Day on Sunday.

One of the first times many of us see how clothes can be used to express a sense of self is through our mum, aunty, grandmother or close family friend. With that in mind, we asked a few Ensemble friends to share a photo of their mother figure, and memories of how they’ve influenced their sense of style today.

The Ensemble Edit

Things we’ve seen, saved and shared, a (mostly) weekly column for our paid subscribers — this week, highlights from Zoe.

✂️ On Friday night I’ll be making zines with writer, Ensemble contributor and my cousin Taualofa Totua. She’ll be hosting a “gentle zine-making” workshop in the lobby of the Hayman Kronfeld Building in Britomart, as part of the precinct’s Streetside mini-festival from 6-8pm. Come along and create something!