The Met Gala‘s main focus for the public eye’s consumption may be the grand entrances by its famous attendees on the museum’s grand stairs, but there’s also plenty of fun to be had after the exclusive event is over. We sent man about town Matt Weinberger to capture two of the Met Gala’s after parties in all their chaotic and glamorous glory — check out his photo diary, below.
A$AP Rocky Opens a Tailor Shop at Jean’s and Sells Puffer Sunglasses
What do you get when you cross a 1940s tailor shop, a vintage head form museum and A$AP Rocky’s brain? Apparently, the AWGE Tailor Shop, a custom-built fever dream where the suits are imaginary, the sunglasses are inflatable, and every inch of the space smells like genius and extremely curated incense.
Guests were zipped into a time machine set to “golden age of style” and crash-landed into A$AP Rocky’s unreleased Wayfarer Puffer collection. That’s right: puffer sunglasses. Imagine if your favorite shades got into fashion school, joined a rap collective and bulked up for winter. Gold accents gleamed. Antique millinery heads served face. And A$AP Rocky’s pantheon of icons — from designers to disruptors, musicians to muses — linked the walls, winking down on the scene like it was the Last Supper of downtown drip.
A constellation of fame orbited the event, casually hanging out under moody lighting: Rihanna, Maluma, Megan Thee Stallion, Sabrina Carpenter, Adrien Brody, Ego Nwodim, Stella Maxwell, Shaboozey, Daniel Kaluuya and Tracee Ellis Ross, just to name a few.
A$AP Rocky basically said, “Let there be bling.” He unveiled a one-of-one Puffer Wayfarer made with 200 grams of 18-karat white gold, iced with 60 carats of diamonds and red gemstones. As if that weren’t enough, guests were handed “Don’t Be Dumb” tickets — a cheeky nod to A$AP Rocky’s favorite phrase and a golden ticket to an on-site smoking experience.
The AWGE Tailor Shop wasn’t just an afterparty. It was a couture hallucination, a love letter to vintage style and proof that A$AP Rocky isn’t just shaping the future; he’s puffer-coating it in diamonds, handing it a joint and lighting it up like there’s no tomorrow.
Chicken Fingers, Cointreau and Couture Chaos at Casa Cipriani
If the Met Gala is the main course, “The After” is the secret speakeasy dessert served flaming, with a side of chaos, and nobody throws it quite like Richie Akiva. Back for its 11th annual glitter-splattered edition, The After 2025 came courtesy of Akiva and Badius, with a little help from a very unexpected plus-one: Raising Cane’s. Yes, the fried chicken chain. And yes, it was iconic.
This year’s hosts — Tyla, Doja Cat, Colman Domingo and Edward Enninful — greeted guests at Casa Cipriani, which was transformed into a surrealist tailor’s dream with velvet walls, polished surfaces and a crowd so dazzling it could short-circuit a camera flash. Think: Madonna, Lauryn Hill, Sabrina Carpenter, Jenna Ortega, Orlando Bloom, Venus and Serena Williams in sleek, “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style” looks that redefined after-party dressing. Imagine if Savile Row collided with Studio 54 and served finger food.
Meanwhile, Raising Cane’s served its gospel of golden chicken fingers, lemonade and sweet tea. VIPs including Colin Kaepernick, Eric Adams and Todd Graves (the founder-slash-fried chicken prophet himself) hung around the food truck, proving that nothing says luxury like late-night poultry.
Inside, Cardi B, Luka Sabbat, Laura Harrier and Marcelo Hernandez danced to Pedro and Kitty Cash, while the DJs spun danceable tracks. Top models poured in post-Met Gala, looking unbothered and perfectly lit: Heidi Klum, Tyson Beckford, Alex Consani, Adut Akech, Precious Lee and every face you’ve double-tapped in the past 24 hours.
Then Kaytranada took over, Richie Akiva got on the mic, and the tequila flowed like holy water. Designers and style savants — LaQuan Smith, Law Roach and Carlos Nazario — hid in the speakeasy, sipping “Diamond Drop” martinis and watermelon spritzes like they were mood board potions. Grey Ven dropped VIP gift bags.
As dawn cracked over the East River, a beautiful, chaotic parade of A-listers, art kids, and stylists spilled out of Casa Cipriani in various states of glam and glee. Someone was holding chicken fingers. Someone was barefoot. Someone had probably just sealed a fashion deal in the bathroom. Only one thing’s certain: if the Met is about the dress, The After is about the mess — and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
Photography: Matthew Weinberger