Anna Wintour is portrayed as fashion's benevolent queen bee — a generous mentor who guides celebrities toward their best red carpet moments with wisdom earned over 30+ years at Vogue. Raúl Ávila frames her outfit approval process as a collaborative, respectful exchange between colleagues who trust her expertise.
Behind the polished exterior lies serious control. Wintour doesn't just suggest — she mandates changes. Designers send mood boards and fabric swatches to her office months in advance for vetting. Stars arriving in barely-mobile couture? They're changing into something 'manageable' the moment they hit the Great Hall. The no-phone policy isn't just tradition — it's damage control.
Ávila has worked with a team of approximately 300 people on each Met Gala. Wintour, 76, personally reviews sketches and outfit plans from major fashion houses before approving them for wear. This year's gala takes place Monday, May 4, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City with the 'Costume Is Art' theme.
The Met Gala's mystique isn't accidental — it's engineered. Between Wintour's meticulous outfit reviews and Ávila's year-long design process, every moment is curated to near-surgical precision. So when you see that red carpet magic? Know that you've only witnessed what they wanted you to see.
Fashion's most exclusive evening just got a little less mysterious. Event designer Raúl Ávila — the creative force behind some of the Met Gala's most breathtaking installations — sat down with Us Weekly ahead of Monday's May 4th celebration to pull back the velvet curtain on what he calls "fashion's biggest night and best-kept secret." The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City hosts its annual Costume Institute fundraiser on the first Monday in May, where an elite guest list ascends the famed staircase before settling down for an elaborate dinner.
And according to Ávila, that guest list is meticulously curated by none other than Anna Wintour herself. "She carefully curates the guest list each year," Ávila explained to Us Weekly. "She also reviews many of the outfits people plan to wear and will tell them whether it works or not.
She is someone who is very straightforward with everyone, and people trust her word." The 76-year-old Vogue editor-in-chief has held her position for over three decades, and Ávila doesn't mince words about her authority: "She is the bible of fashion. She is the woman who has brought this today." The approval process runs deeper than a simple thumbs-up or veto. Major fashion houses send detailed sketches directly to Wintour's office for review — complete with mood boards featuring colored fabric swatches, shoe selections, jewelry choices, and accessory pairings.
"There's a lot of sketching that most of the designers send to the office, and I've seen those sketches," Ávila revealed. "They have the mood board with colored fabrics and shoes and jewelry and accessories. Not just the outfit; shoes and accessories are a big part of the whole package." When asked whether celebrities actually consult Wintour before finalizing their looks, Ávila was unequivocal: "She was the editor-in-chief of Vogue magazine for over 30 years...
So yes, it's respectful to hear what she has to say about what you're going to wear." As for those celebrity no-shows that tabloids love to speculate about? According to Ávila, they simply don't happen — at least not in the chaotic way rumors suggest. "If they cannot make it, they will say immediately, 'I'm so sorry, but this year I won't be able to go.' Everybody [else invited] shows up." The event's infamous no-phone policy keeps details locked behind closed doors, but Ávila's team of approximately 300 workers transforms the museum space for an entire year before each gala.
This year, Wintour challenged him with a specific directive: "I want you to focus on the gardens of northern Italy." That inspiration took Ávila across Italy itself — walking through parks, studying fountains, absorbing architectural details and local culture. "I love walking when I visit another country," he said. "I started pulling ideas from everything I saw — the parks, the fountains, the buildings, the people, everything." The result is meant to be a complete sensory experience for guests, though some may never see it as intended.
Here's the detail that proves just how calculated the Met Gala truly is: celebrities arriving in elaborate gowns with enormous trains or barely-mobile constructions don't wear those pieces through dinner. "Those guests who arrive in outfits they can barely move in... They change in the Great Hall," Ávila revealed.
"They check in, and they put on something more manageable to attend the dinner." The red carpet magic you see on your screens? Engineered for cameras only. Monday's gala follows this year's "Costume Is Art" theme with a dress code of "Fashion Is Art." Ávila describes it as an artistic study of the human form — how clothing interacts with different body types and shapes.
"We're all completely different — some are thin, some are fuller, some are tall, some are short," he explained. "They study the figure and shape of each human being, and from there they begin to design their pieces." Whether that translates to avant-garde headpieces or gravity-defying silhouettes remains to be seen when the first celebrity steps onto those iconic stairs — but one thing's certain: Wintour has already signed off on every single look before a camera captures it.