By Lane Florsheim

Eva Chen has not been losing sleep over the Met Gala, fashion's biggest night of the year. "I wish I could say that I start doing Pilates like six weeks or months in advance," said Chen, 45, the VP of fashion partnerships at Meta and former Lucky magazine editor-in-chief who is attending her ninth Met Gala tonight. Instead, she spends a handful of hours getting ready, including a couple of treatments the weekend before.

At tonight's gala, guests are encouraged to wear menswear and suiting similar to the clothing on display at the Met's Costume Institute exhibition, "Superfine: Tailoring Black Style." Chen said that she could hear the late fashion editor André Leon Talley's voice in her head as she decided on an outfit: "It's a type of clothing I've never worn before. I'm leaning into the dandyism." She said she had started planning the look in December.

Chen lives in New York City with her husband, creative director Thomas Bannister, and their kids, Ren, 9, Tao, 7, and River, 3. In addition to her work at Instagram, she writes children's books. Here, Chen discusses what she's learned from Anna Wintour, the "very nerdy" thing she collects and what she's sick of seeing people post on Instagram.

What time do you get up on Met Gala Monday?

I usually wake up an hour or an hour and a half earlier [than usual], around 6 a.m. The night before, I'll have packed all my essentials and snacks and a change of shoes. The designer drops off the look at the hotel, but I will try to drop off any supplies the weekend before so that morning is as unburdened as possible.

How do you spend the morning?

I'm very, very, very obsessed with breakfast. I usually have two hard boiled eggs or I make a kind of homemade muesli that I'll have with protein and flax milk. Then I pack a snack in my bag to take with me. I go to the press preview [of the museum exhibition] to hear [curator in charge of the Costume Institute] Andrew Bolton, and this year Monica L. Miller [whose book inspired the exhibition], narrate and share background on the exhibition and walk through it. From there, I head over to the Mark Hotel.

What happens there?

It's the stereotype of the LED face mask, the manicure. I usually don't have my nails done until, like, two hours before the Met. Makeup usually comes at around 3. Daniel Martin is my makeup artist for the Met. My hairstylist is Damian Santiago.

I usually have lunch at the Mark. They have a shrimp salad I get every year. The designer usually comes at around 4:30 and preps the dress and helps me get into the dress. I've had two Met Galas post-partum, and I was nursing and had to have nursing pads sewn into the dresses [by Erdem and Christopher John Rogers]. Last year, I want to say my Robert Wu dress was over 50 pounds of beads.

Do you do anything the weekend before to get ready?

I usually try to keep the Saturday and Sunday before the Met for time with the kids. I try to get a lymphatic-drainage massage, so I'm going to Sage + Sound. I get a facial with Joanna Czech.

What partnerships are you and Instagram working on for the gala?

Instagram takes over the penthouse of the Mark, where we host creators from all around the world who do live red carpet commentary. It's very fun, everyone kind of lounging and sharing their hot takes and perspectives. This year, we're hosting with a fashion voice named Pam Boy.

After I get dressed, Adam Mosseri, who's the head of Instagram, and I do remarks for the creators. You might also see a Ray-Ban Meta [AI glasses] moment on the red carpet of the Met. You might see a little bit of sparkle [on the Threads app].

What's something about your preparation that people wouldn't expect?

[Adam and I] try to give ourselves 45 minutes to get from door to door. The irony is the Mark Hotel is mere blocks [from the museum], but you're not allowed to arrive on foot. You have to allot 45 minutes.

What are you most excited about going into this year's gala?

The work of the phenomenal Black designers who are going to be involved, from Pharrell to Maximilian Davis to Olivier Rousteing.

What's a social media trend you want to see die?

Overthinking content. You can tell that people were self-conscious or felt like they had to post something or they'll say in the caption, "Feels cute, might delete it later." It's like, don't delete it, just leave it. Who cares?

People used to aspire for their Instagrams to look editorial and like it was produced, with props and full sets. Now the content that performs best feels like a slightly grainy selfie someone took. That's 100% going to be the best content from the night, those stolen moments where someone sees each other and grabs a picture. There's always someone afterwards who goes straight to McDonald's or Chipotle -- that photo's going to do really well.

Do you collect anything?

I collect different types of matcha. I try to collect first-edition children's books, so I have a first edition of "The BFG" by Roald Dahl. I love fountain pens and there's a store in Paris called Point Plume. I'll go and buy new ink cartridges and I get really excited to choose the color. It's very nerdy, but it's the highlight of Paris Fashion Week for me. I think it's a holdover from my childhood where I always loved shopping for back to school supplies. I started collecting cast iron teapots recently.

Do you have any hobbies or habits that might surprise your fans?

I love reading medical journals and studies. I was pre-med in a past life, which my husband will say I remind people of daily. Now that "The Pitt" is such a popular show, I literally remind people hourly. I love it when people share their kids' illnesses with me and I will tell them what it is. I'll be like, "Classic hand foot mouth," or, "That's for sure a double ear infection."

What's one piece of advice you've gotten that's guided you?

I have totemic role models in my life for work ethic: On one side, it's my parents who came to America. Just witnessing how hard they worked to provide for my brother and myself in New York City when English was their second language. On the other side, there's Anna Wintour, whose decisiveness and style of communication is so distinct and clear. Her leadership is [one of] extreme clarity.

Write to Lane Florsheim at lane.florsheim@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 05, 2025 08:00 ET (12:00 GMT)

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