Inside the Hottest Met Gala Afterparties

May 5, 2026 / Sophie Clearwater /

[ad_1]

Ellen von Unwerth and CT Hedden at Baz Luhrmann’s Met Gala afterparty. Matteo Prandoni/BFA.com

If Ragtime‘s Joshua Henry, nominated for a Tony Award just this morning, lit the fuse at the Met Gala’s start with his gospel-inspired, fever-pitched rendition of Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance with Somebody,” Jon Batiste (who wore an homage to American portraitist Barkley L. Hendricks to the main event) blew the roof off The Carlyle with his multi-instrumental set at the Cartier Met Gala afterparty at the swanky Bemelmans Bar, accompanied by a symphony of clinking martini glasses wielded by a shoulder-to-shoulder crowd. Spotted on the tables next to Panthère de Cartier trinket trays were one-night-only white linen cocktail napkins embroidered with “Behelmans Bar x Cartier” in golden thread.

“Costume Art” was this year’s dress code for the prestigious gala, and Batiste wasn’t the only celeb to lean into the living museum theme. There was Ben Platt in a Georges Seurat’s Sunday in the Park With George-inspired Tanner Fletcher tux, Madonna cosplaying Leonora Carrington’s The Temptation Of St. Anthony. Fragment II, Hunter Schafer as Gustav Klimt’s Mäda Primavesi and a frankly terrifying Heidi Klum in a custom Mike Marino creation inspired by Giovanni Strazza’s The Veiled Virgin. Kendall Jenner and Yu Chi Lyra Kuo sported very different interpretations of the Winged Victory of Samothrace, but our favorite look from the gala itself was Amy Sherald, inspired by Amy Sherald. Of course, the monumental gowns and towering accessories seldom make it to the legendary afterparties (unless you’re Luke Evans, whose Tom of Finland look was made to dance all night long).

This year’s lineup of post-gala fêtes was much like last year’s. At the Mark, returning revelers (including Cardi B in a Marc Jacobs bubble dress, later swapped for a sheer lace number) were greeted with boxes of KFC. Nearby at the Surrey, guests including Stanley Tucci, Emily Blunt, Sarah Pidgeon and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson pre-gamed with pre-party bellinis and hamachi crudo before heading back out to party. Kendall Jenner, who stripped off her Greek goddess gown to reveal a naked mannequin sheath, and Hailey Bieber, looking like she’d been toilet papered, were spotted leaving together.

Downtown, where the parties don’t start until at least midnight, it was pure chaos in the best way. At The Standard Hotel Boom afterparty (a tradition now nearly 20 years running, and this year hosted by Grace Gummer and Gabriela Hearst), Questlove DJ’ed while Janelle Monáe, Misty Copeland and Dustin Yellin watched singer Kelela hype the crowd from atop the bar. A$AP Rocky was there until he wasn’t. Drag queen CT Hedden, sporting red crepe, fishnets and a Statue of Liberty coif, was there, but then again, he seemed to be everywhere, spotted as he also was alongside German photographer Ellen von Unwerth at Baz Luhrmann’s Met Gala afterparty at Monsieur—an event that also lured Miranda Kerr, Thomas Hayo, Natalie De’Banco and Margot Robbie (in jeans, no less). Here’s what you missed: