Sarah Jessica Parker’s Met Gala gown paid tribute to first female Black designer in White House

Actor worked on gown with designer Christopher John Rogers

(Getty Images for The Met Museum/)

In addition to adhering to the 2022 theme, Sarah Jessica Parker‘s Met Gala gown had a special significance, as it paid homage to the first Black female designer in the White House.

On Monday 2 May, the 57-year old Sex and the City actor arrived at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in an outfit designed by Christopher John Rogers, with her look consisting of a black-and-white striped gown and black gloves in celebration of the theme: “In America: An Anthology of Fashion.” She accessorised the outfit with a hat with a veil and multi-coloured feathers.

Rogers discussed Parker’s ensemble during an interview with Vogue, where he acknowledged that the actor put a lot of thought into the Met Gala outfit.

“What excited me the most about dressing her is how much of a fashion lover and historian she is,” the fashion designer said. “She’s intentional about everything that she wears.”

More specifically, Rogers revealed that Parker’s evening gown paid homage to Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley, a former slave from Virginia who moved to DC in 1860 and became the first female Black fashion designer in the White House. Keckley later became the official dressmaker for former First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln.

According to Rogers, he and Parker wanted to showcase the “disparity” throughout the United States in the 1800s by honouring Keckley through the outfit.

“She was a smaller designer, and someone that people don’t really talk about,” Rogers said. “The idea was to highlight the dichotomy between the extravagant, over-the-top proportions of the time period, and the disparity that was happening in America at the time.”

While working on the actor’s Met Gala look, Parker and Rogers found a design that Keckley made in the 1860s, as the Gilded Age, the inspiration behind the dress code for this year’s gala, started around the 1870s. Rogers said that the clothing item they discovered was a “cape” with a “black-and-white gingham-plaid gown underneath”.

(Getty Images for The Met Museum/)

“It was the starting point for us - and since we’re known for using plaids and taffeta, it was already in the wheelhouse of what we do,” he added.

Rogers acknowledged how that cape then brought Parker’s gown to life. “We took the idea of a small gingham and really blew it up,” he said. “We also exaggerated the silhouette.”

He also elaborated on the design process, noting how he turned Keckley’s cape into the top for Parker’s dress, with an “emphasis” on its low neckline. For the embroidery on the outfit, Rogers noted that they wanted to “keep it simple” even though the fabric was “super luxe”.

According to Rogers, working with Parker brought the design to a place that he “didn’t necessarily” plan at first. However, he also noted that this wasn’t a bad thing.

“One thing that I always love in the design process is serendipity, and letting the fittings take [you] to a place that you didn’t necessarily intend initially,” he explained. “She allowed me to lean into those happy accidents. On the sleeve, there’s a sliver of skin, and we also dropped the neckline even lower than I had originally intended.”

Parker’s large hat was designed by Phillip Treacy, who’s worked with the actor for many years, and who told Vogue that the veil was inspired by “the opulence and decadence of the Gilded Age”.

“Sarah Jessica is always inspiring to design for. She has a love of hats and fashion. and has never been afraid to embrace whatever theme she is presented with,” he added.

Parker previously discussed the importance of wearing an outfit to the Met Gala that coincides with the event’s theme during an interview with Vogue last month. According to Parker, she not only spends months working on her look, but she also sees the gala as “an assignment”.

“Whenever I go to the Met, I don’t understand how everyone else doesn’t spend seven to 10 months working on it. Like how do you not arrive exhausted by the details of getting it right?” the And Just Like That star said. “It is an assignment and it should be labour-intensive. And it should be challenging.”