Behind the Making of the Met Gala With Event Designer Raul Àvila

When guests finished climbing the Met Gala’s red-carpeted stairs and entered the Metropolitan Museum of Art, they were greeted by a towering, golden rendition of the Statue of Liberty’s flame of enlightenment—and a sea of red roses covering the grand staircase inside—both executed by Raul Àvila, the event designer who has overseen the gala’s visual design since 2007. Now, for Vogue Club members, Àvila is sitting down with Jessie Nichols, Vogue’s Director of Special Events, to pull back the veil on his process. (And Nichols, who just marked her second year working on the Met Gala, has some secrets of her own to share!) 

Àvila knows the importance of a grand entrance: The theme for his inaugural ball, in 2007, was “Poiret: King of Fashion,” and in keeping with Poiret’s love of birdcages, Àvila outfitted the Great Hall with an 18-foot-tall iteration with live peacocks inside. On Monday night he leaned into the “In America” theme, using red roses (the United States’ national flower) to celebrate the exhibition. The Statue of Liberty sculpture, meanwhile, was conceived by artist Simone Leigh and made in collaboration with Shane Valentino. (During dinner, a painting of the original sculpture was projected onto the wall for guests to enjoy.) 

Tune in at 1:30 pm ET on Thursday, May 5 to hear Àvila’s and Nichols’s secrets of Met Gala decor and dining.