After all the anticipation, the countless reports of who’d be wearing what, and which designers would be squiring which celebrities, the Costume Institute ball is over. We had many favorites. Kate Bosworth’s Veronica Lake locks, fire-engine-red lips, and lacy Stella McCartney were a bright spot; as were Jessica Stam’s coppery Rodarte (it matched her hair) [...]

While some stars enjoy a red-carpet surprise (Madonna, we’re looking at you), other celebs stick to a favorite silhouette. For Kirsten Dunst, one of those shapes is a twenties-inspired gown with sheer panels, short sleeves, and marabou detail. Witness the actress’ two Chanel frocks—the navy one she wore tonight to the Met ball and the [...]

Designer Andreas Melbostad will go to bed happy tonight. Models Erin Wasson and Natasha Poly and fashion plates Vanessa Traina and Lauren Santo Domingo all chose body-con Phi looks for their walks up the Met’s steps.

Photo: Sherly Rabbani and Josephine Solimene

Sexy Lake Bell, who Met watchers will remember sparkled in Balmain before Balmain was big at last year’s ball, went the opposite route tonight. Here she is doing the Victor/Victoria thing in a suit and tie, fedora, and dramatically lined eyes.

Photo: Sherly Rabbani and Josephine Solimene

The asymmetric hemline—short in front, long in back—is shaping up to be a favorite red carpet silhouette tonight. So far we’ve spotted Bee Shaffer in navy Nina Ricci, Jessica Biel in a voluminous red number, and Victoria Beckham in a Marc Jacobs gown that boasts both a miniskirt and a train.

Photo: Sherly Rabbani and Josephine [...]

As rumored over a week ago, Kate Moss donned a turban for her duties as co-host of the Costume Institute Party of the Year. We undersand it’s adorned with Harry Winston’s 18-carat
royal blue sapphire. It’s still early on, but she also appears to be one of the few red carpet-goers who chose a short dress.

Photo: [...]

We’ll be live-blogging from our desks as the red-carpet pictures roll in, but in the meantime here’s the 411 from our favorite Twitterers.
Edgy Austrian Iris Strubegger will be making her Costume Institute debut, looking suitably glam in Givenchy couture.
One leggy campaign star we won’t be seeing on the Met red carpet tonight? Heidi Mount, who’s [...]

We were uptown early this morning to do a pre-press conference walk-through at the Costume Institute’s new exhibition The Model as Muse. Among the reporters and camera crews, we spied hairstylist Julien d’Ys, who worked his magic on the Met mannequins; event sponsor Marc Jacobs; and, of course, curators Harold Koda and Kohle Yohannan. “It’s [...]

“A good model can advance fashion ten years.” That was Marc Jacobs quoting Yves Saint Laurent this morning at the Met, where the designer, Vogue’s Anna Wintour, the Costume Institute’s Harold Koda, and the museum’s new director, Thomas P. Campbell, were gathered for a press conference about the upcoming exhibition The Model as Muse: Embodying [...]