An invite to the Met Gala comes with great responsibility. There’s a theme to dress for—this year's theme is “Gilded Glamour”—and attendees must come up with an outfit for that theme
that’s great and outrageous…but not so outrageous it gets them roasted online. But sometimes an outfit is so perfect, we can forgive it for missing a theme’s bullseye. That’s where Sebastian Stan landed with his Pepto-Bismol-on-steroids Valentino look. It may not be a perfect fit among the many more literal interpretations of this year’s theme, but who cares? Sebastian Stan looks really good in pink.
The actor arrived at the Met Gala red carpet in a pink coat, pink shirt, pink trousers, pink sunglasses, pink sneakers, and even pink socks. This is monochromatic dressing turned up to 11. (We would have shouted him out for a much mellower shade of pink but there’s nothing quite like going head-to-toe neon.) Does it feel like Gilded Glamour? Not necessarily, but Stan understood at least part of the assignment: wear an outrageously great outfit.
Even at the Met Gala, regularly responsible for a large quotient of the year’s craziest celebrity red-carpet looks, the menswear can sometimes be just a touch dull. At past Met Galas, even the best-dressed guys have tended to take small risks: suits with shorts one year, and maybe a kilt the next when they’re feeling particularly adventurous. This year, many of the men dressed in black tuxedos with tails, which can feel flat compared to the shape-shifting womenswear. Stan, apparently, was tired of the baby steps.
The flamingo shade is the headliner here but don’t let it take away from how great Stan’s outfit fits. A video taken outside the hotel where Stan got ready shows how the coat swings around as he moves and hangs just off his body. It’s perfectly slouchy in the way we like our clothes to fit in 2022. And maybe the only thing cooler than a great-fitting all-pink outfit at the Met Gala? Sharing the highlighter shade with Glenn Close.