Alton Mason gazes intently into the mirror, flutters the glimmering cape draped over his torso, and lets loose a Broadway marquee of a smile. “I feel magical,” he says. “I feel
powerful. I feel strong.”
It’s easy to see why: the 24-year-old supermodel has just slipped into the custom Prada ensemble he’s wearing to tonight’s Met Gala, and it fits so flawlessly, looks so freaky and righteous, that the entire hotel suite of people helping out with the fitting breaks into genuine, spontaneous applause. Which makes plenty of sense: the look is all black, save for a galaxy of cobalt and gold rhinestones riddled across the shirt and cape, and anchored by a pair of pants that frames Mason’s sculptural waist so handsomely that it causes someone in the room to unironically exclaim, “WOWZERS TROUSERS!”
Even for a guy who made history as Chanel’s first-ever black male runway model, this feels like an especially massive moment: Mason is making his film debut in Baz Luhrmann’s upcoming Elvis biopic, and he’s attending the Gala with the director, a gaggle of his co-stars, including Austin Butler and Olivia DeJonge, and Priscilla Presley herself. Mason plays Little Richard, because of course: it’s difficult to imagine anyone else possessing the precise blend of verve, swagger, kinetic energy, musical ability, and cheekbones necessary to faithfully portray the self-proclaimed most beautiful man in show business.
