Hypebeast DIARIES: Bianca Saunders on Designing Usher's Met Gala Suit
For our latest video diary, we visit the British designer’s atelier to understand more about the pressures of the Met Gala, and how she was inspired by Karl Lagerfeld.
For the latest installment of Hypebeast DIARIES, we step inside the atelier of Bianca Saunders. Here, the renowned British designer talks us through what goes into designing Usher‘s Met Gala outfit, as Hypebeast documents her as she collaborates with her team, diving into technique and materials, pushing the boundaries of traditional menswear for the red carpet moment.
The Met Gala is the most prestigious event in the fashion calendar — being invited is an honor in its own right, so the outfit has to live up to expectations. It has presented numerous viral moments, from Kim Kardashian’s divisive usage of the Jean Louis dress that Marilyn Monroe wore to sing President John F. Kennedy “Happy Birthday” in 1962, to Billie Eilish’s Gucci dress that was inspired by John Singer Sargent’s portrait of Madame Paul Poirson in 1885. For 2023, the Met Gala celebrated the Costume Institute’s spring exhibition, Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty, in turn delivering a spectacle in an ode to the late fashion designer.
Put by Saunders herself, “This is next level because it puts me in a different realm other than doing ready-to-wear. It’s life-changing.” With the pressure on, the designer started with her research, looking into how she can balance Lagerfeld’s legacy with her own work.
The result was a black satin-finish suit that could encapsulate the glamor of the evening, tailored to perfection and fitting against Usher’s body while emitting a contemporary, typically Saunders look and feel. For example, there’s a signature tailored suit jacket vent on the rear, but the jacket itself acted more like a pullover.
It was a look of new heights for the designer, and all this and more can be discovered in the Hypebeast DIARIES video above.
Elsewhere, cast your mind back to how this year’s Met Gala played out — with attendees (mostly) remaining on-theme.
