Blink-182 drummer: 18 months or so ago, he fell in love with his longtime friend and neighbor Kourtney Kardashian, kicking off a whirlwind courtship of coordinated goth-lite vacation outfits, countless public smooches, a beachfront proposal amidst a sea of roses, an Elvis-officiated “practice” wedding in Vegas, and new plans to grow their blended family.

As for the Met? “I like being places maybe I’m not supposed to be,” he says, with a laugh. “That’s the best.”

This year, Travis and Kourtney are both attending the event for the first time. They’re doing so as guests of the rollicking American designer Thom Browne—which, despite the designer’s having outfitted a walloping 21 attendees at the last Met in September, will mark the first time he’s dressed a couple for the event. On the Saturday evening before the first Monday in May, Barker and Kardashian arrive for their final fitting at Browne’s Garment District studio. They were fresh off the plane from Lake Como, Italy. “My fifteenth flight,” Barker shares. After surviving a tragic airplane crash in 2008, Barker never thought he would fly again—that is, until Kourtney. After nearly 13 years, the couple flew to Mexico last summer (“With you anything is possible,” he wrote afterwards on Instagram) and have been jet-setting together ever since.