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Happy Met Ball Monday! For the next 14 hours or so, everyone who is anyone in the fashion industry will be primping, prepping, and posing for tonight's big event, the annual Costume Institute Gala. As you very well know by now, this year's theme is punk fashion. Rooney Mara, Lauren Santo Domingo, Riccardo Tisci, and Beyonce are hosting. Somehow Psy got invited. Basically, this is going to be great. We'll be reporting on developments all day, so follow along right here for photos, celebrity updates, dresses, musings, and more.
10:30am: The press preview of the PUNK: Chaos to Couture exhibition is complete, the and the first reviews are in. Suzy Menkes is not a fan. According to her, the exhibition is "bloodless," "dull," and "uninspired."
10:45am: What it lacks in blood, though, makes up in urine! WWD reports that there is a reproduction of the bathrooms at famous punk club CBGB, complete with toilets and urinals.
11:00am: Speaking of CBGB bathroom, we are pretty sure VH1's classic Behind the Music on Blondie features an anecdote about how Debbie Harry and Chris Stein used to get it on in there. Working to confirm.
11:05am: Here's a gallery of Instagrams from the press preview. What do you think? Bloodless? Dull?
12:02pm: Our source on the scene, Sarah Kenney, says the first four steps of the Met's long-ass staircase have been successfully carpeted.
12:16pm Per a press release, Emily Blunt, Minka Kelly, Vanessa Redgrave, Patricia Lansing, and Marissa Myer will all be wearing Carolina Herrera this evening.
12:27pm: Curator Andrew Bolton on punk fashion: "Punk began as an impulse, as a feeling. No other subculture has had a greater influence on what we wear today."
12:48pm US Weekly is reporting that Kim Kardashian and Kanye West had dinner at Anna Wintour's apartment last night, indicating that Kim may have secured her first ever Met Gala invite.
Rolling it out. Via @HilaryHRhoda/instagram
12:59pm: Red carpet update! Model Hilary Rhoda, who will be hosting the Vogue livestream tonight along with William Norwich, shares that the red carpet is now officially covering the sidewalk. Repeat, red carpet is a go.
1:10pm: Fashion writer/historian Robin Givhan weighs in on punk fashion over on The Cut. Her take? "Punk has lost its ability to shock."
1:16pm: According to Twitter, designer Rachel Roy very much enjoyed her pre Met Gala facial at Tracie Martyn.
1:32pm: More dress news: Lena Dunham will reportedly be wearing a custom dress and shoes from Erdem's autumn/winter 2013 collection. Presumably Hamish Bowels won't make her change her shoes again this year.
Photo by Bonnie Datt
1:54pm: Here's that aforementioned CBGB bathroom installation, btw. Still trying to confirm the Debbie Harry-Chris Stein sex rumor.
2:06pm More dress confirmations! January Jones will wear sequined black Chanel Couture from SS09. Gwen Stefani will wear custom Maison Martin Margiela. And Anna Wintour will wear a floral sequin embroidered gown from Chanel's SS13 Haute Couture collection.
2:16pm: Kristen Stewart update. Fashion journalist Jim Shi tweets: "Okay, not only is #KStew 100% confirmed for tonight's #MetGala, but her look is going to be craaazy good. Can't say more. #KristenStewart."
2:35pm: Poll: Craziest Met Gala rumor of the day (so far) is A) Tiger Woods and Lindsey Vonn or B) Chris Brown?
2:43pm: In local news, our sister site Racked New York is giving away a free year-long membership to the Met. To win it, you will need to have the funniest comment about tonight's red carpet looks. More details this way.
2:48pm: Jessica Alba and Ginnifer Goodwin will both wear custom gowns from Tory Burch, Fashionologie reports.
The crowd control scene at 5th Ave and 82nd Street. Photo by Sarah Kenney.
3:00pm: Word to the wise: if you were planning to stake out the arrivals tonight, better hustle uptown and save your spot. Met Gala die-hards are already camping out.
2:59pm: And hashtag abuser Miley Cyrus confirms via Twitter that she will be wearing Marc Jacobs tonight: "We gonnnna kill it @MarcJacobsIntl #PuNk #whosmorepunkthan #MJ #MC #MetGala."
3:15pm Fashionista has a great list of who will be attending tonight's gala with whom (it's a gala—you have to say "whom.") Of note: Rodarte sisters Kate and Laura Mulleavy are double-dating with sisters Elle and Dakota Fanning (adorbs); Samsung is taking Psy; and Saint Laurent is taking Greta Gerwig. As previously reported, disgraced designer John Galliano will not be attending. In the words of his publicist, "One step at a time, and that's one huge mother fuckin' staircase."
3:26pm: Donna Karan's dress credits are in! Per a press release, Hailee Steinfeld and Emmy Rossum will both be wearing one-of-a-kind Donna Karan Atelier tonight. Hailee's is tea length, Emmy's is platinum embroidered ravished lace and she'll be escorted by Donna Karan Design Dirctor Peter Speliopoulos.
3:32pm: Like many other Met Ball attendees this year, Valentino Garavani is not so much feeling the punk theme. "I'm not so crazy about the fashion for tomorrow night," he told Fashion Week Daily. "I never did [like punk style], because it's not extremely becoming or extremely feminine; but for young designers it gives a kick. So it's good for them."
Mystery punk manicure
4:02pm: Behold: The first Met Gala mani pic. It was tweeted by DKNY PR Girl Aliza Licht with the caption, "Taking punk to the next level. #DonnaKaranAtelier mani & #Irit jewels. If u can guess whose hand this is, I'll be really impressed." It's Hailee! It's totally Hailee. Gotta be.
4:12pm: @DKNY informs us that the punked out mani above belongs, in fact, to the lovely Emmy Rossum. (But it totally could have been Hailee.)
Photo via @Berdorfs/Instagram
4:29pm: Wes Gordon, his puppy, and his spiked Louboutins have taken over Bergdorfs' Instagram for the night.
4:43pm: Kerry Washington confirms that she is "very excited" to wear Vera Wang tonight. (Love Kerry, but she needs a lesson in talking punk from Miley Cyrus.) Also, Abbey Lee Kershaw will be wearing custom rag & bone, a PR rep from the company tells us.
4:54pm: Well, this is nice. Apparently Tommy Hilfiger bought Nicki Minaj a $37,000 Rolex just for being his guest tonight.
5:09pm: Ralph Lauren just tweeted that they'll be hosting Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke and Lone Ranger's Armie Hammer tonight, to which we say well played. Nice mix of classy and badass all around.
5:19pm: Givenchy Creative Director and Met Gala host Riccardo Tisci spoke with WWD about the punk theme of tonight's gala. Here's how that went: "My life has been very punk. I have always had to fight for my rights. I come from a country that has very heavy religious customs. I am very Catholic and I believe in God. I grew up in a family that didn't have financial wisdom and power. I have had to fight for what I believe in to support women's rights and other aspects of society to be recognized and understood." FYI, Beyoncé, Madonna, Frank Ocean, and Marina Abramovic will be at his table.
5:23pm: Karlie Kloss alert! The model will be wearing Louis Vuitton this evening.
Photo via @ZacPosen/Instagram
5:25pm: Zac Posen just Instagrammed a teaser of one of tonight's looks. The gown appears to have only one boob in place at the moment, and, given the punk theme, it is technically possible that that's all that dress is going to get.
Photo: Sarah Kenney
5:42pm: Apparently a whole truck load of punk models—some of whom appear to be wearing red Ronald McDonald wigs—just arrived. According to our reporter on the ground, they were "yelling and screaming and dancing and jumping up and down." So, they're happy punks!
Photo via @HilaryHRoda/Instagram
5:51pm: First look at Hilary Rhoda's stunning Wes Gordon outfit (yes, those appear to be leather pants). As previously discussed, Rhoda will be hosting the Vogue livestream with William Norwich in approximately one hour. You can find it here at 7:00.
6:25pm: The 'grams have started pouring in. We'll be posting the best in the gallery above until the red carpet livestream starts at 7:00.
6:38pm: While you wait for the red carpet livestream to start, here is Racked NY's review of the exhibition. Legendary British designer Zandra Rhodes makes an appearance.
7:15: The red carpet has started! We'll continue to update the gallery above with the best of Instagram, but head here for all the red carpet glory!
· The Met Gala Live-Stream Is a Go! [Racked]
· The Business of the Met Ball: How a Party Became a Mini Industry [Racked]
· All Met Gala coverage [Racked]
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