Gilded Glamour: The 2022 Met Gala

Behind the scenes with Mimi as she dresses celebrity guests for this year's Met Gala.

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The Met Gala, first established in 1948 by fashion publicist Eleanor Lambert is held annually on the first Monday of May. It marks the opening of the Costume Institute's annual fashion exhibit on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Each year's event celebrates the specific theme of that year's Costume Institute exhibition, which sets the tone for the formal attire of the night.

This year's theme, "Gilded Glamour," draws inspiration from New York's Gilded Age. Follow along behind the scenes with Mimi as she reflects on her experience dressing guests for fashion's biggest night out.

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Prabal Gurung

Oh, Prabal...Prabal...Prabal...a man who knows what he wants. In the 9th inning, I love it when he says, "Mimi!! I need MORE diamonds! my response was, "Of course you do my dear!" I valued Prabal's trust in me as we collaborated on the final looks for the ladies attending the 2022 Met Gala. His gowns were genius – featuring romantic and regal designs – with diamonds as a finishing touch.

Kiki Layne

When I met Kiki, I recalled she was gorgeous, with a kindred child-like spirit of playfulness. The color scheme featured vibrant shades of floral Fuscia that seemingly blossomed right before our eyes. I soon realized our one-of-a-kind pink tourmaline & diamond statement choker would perfectly compliment Prabal's ethereal gown. Our pink sapphire Bow ring was the ideal pinky ring to match Judith Leiber's crystal-encrusted teapot purse.

 

Ashley Park

Ashley was lovely – we had a ton of fun! Helping her channel her inner Audrey Hepburn was so exciting for me! We paid homage to the iconic Breakfast at Tiffany's scene by dripping her in layered diamond necklaces complete with waterfall diamond earrings in 18-karat white gold.

Denée Benton

Tony award-winner Denée Benton was full of spunk! We actually had a wardrobe malfunction, her diamond bracelet got caught during her fitting, and I could feel my face turning paler by the minute. Luckily, she was such a trooper! I had to extract her from her fitting to the diamond district, where one of our artisan jewelers was (thankfully) still working. It was a group effort to get the bracelet off! Notably, she mentioned she wouldn't mind going to bed with a $300,000 bracelet 😉.

Michelle Yeoh

Before meeting Michelle, I was a fan of her work. When I introduced myself, she indicated she had already heard of the brand through several friends who are collectors of my work. It was fantastic – she immediately invited me into her suite to have a seat, "I LOVE jewelry – show me, please!"

Obviously stunning on the outside, I found Michelle an equally beautiful person on the inside. She has a great sense of humor, and we bonded over our shared mutual love of her latest film, "Everywhere, Everything, All at Once." I loved every piece I placed upon her – she did too. In fact, she loved the jewels so much that she immediately relayed her new 'wishlist' to her husband, "this is what I want from Mimi, and here's her number!" My Kind of Woman! 🙌.

 

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