Gwen Stefani on Wearing Vera Wang and Doing Her Own Makeup for the Met Gala

As a fully paid-up fashion icon, when it comes to choosing an outfit for the Met Gala, Gwen Stefani always understands the assignment. “It’s all about being outrageous and creative and artistic,” she tells Vogue. So naturally, to make her appearance on this year’s red carpet, she opted for a choice that was firmly on theme. Who better to design a look for a night celebrating American fashion than one of the greatest doyennes of American fashion herself, Vera Wang?

“I got a call that Vera wanted me to be her date, and I was just so honored that she chose me,” Stefani says. “She has such a distinct thing that she does, that is so feminine, and I think ever since I met my husband, that part of me has really come out in my fashion more than ever. The femininity that I didn’t really embrace for a lot of years, just because of being in a band with all guys, and being on stage.”

While Stefani has long been a fan of Wang’s romantic designs, her look this year held a particular sentimental value, given she also wore an extravagant tulle confection by Wang for her wedding to Blake Shelton last summer in Oklahoma. “Fashion and makeup are such an extension of our personalities and who we are at the time and who we want to be,” Stefani notes. “So this is in line with this amazing chapter of my life: getting married, being able to work with [Vera] on the wedding dress, and now this.” For this year’s Met Gala, however, Stefani opted for a billowing skirt lavishly decorated with floral appliqués and a matching bralette, both in an arresting shade of highlighter yellow. “When I saw the dress in real life, the sketch came to life,” she says. “It was exactly what the sketch looked like.”

Meanwhile, when it came to her standout beauty look—which included a dramatic slick of contrasting blue across her eyelids—it turns out that Stefani herself was responsible for bringing it to life after her makeup artist was forced to cancel. (Luckily, she had the full spectrum of her recently launched GXVE by Gwen Stefani beauty line at her disposal.) “I was a makeup artist myself back in the day,” she says. “That said to me, get in the seat and do your makeup Gwen Stefani. You have this new makeup line, you’re at the Met, and you’re in New York for the first time in forever. Luckily, I brought my kit!”