What’s the secret to a successful dinner party? The seating arrangements, of course.
Some thought and care—an eye toward which of your friends will have the most in common, who will help bring others out of their shell, and who, for everyone’s sake, should be seated at opposite ends of the table—goes a long way. Now, imagine you’re planning a dinner for hundreds of celebrities, designers, industry leaders, and more special guests, all at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, for the annual fundraiser for the Costume Institute. How, exactly, does Vogue do the seating chart for the Met Gala?
It all begins with a seating document as early as December, five months before the event, when the guest list begins to take shape.“The actual chart does not really come together until about a month before the event, once we have a clearer sense of the room, the layout, and the flow of the evening,” says Sache Taylor, Vogue’s director of special events.
A table at the 2019 Met Gala. Look closely and you’ll see Kiernan sat Dapper Dan next to 21 Savage.
Photographed by Corey Tenold
Taylor, along with Eaddy Kiernan Bunzel and the rest of the events team, spends practically all of April in a conference room at the Vogue office, going over the seating chart, which lives on a large poster board that is kept top secret. Guest names are listed on Velcro tabs known as “Lilah labels,” named after their inventor, Vogue’s own Lilah Ramzi. The Velcro is key, because the chart is a “constantly moving puzzle,” Taylor says.
“We are still making adjustments right up until the very end. It’s not just the guests that are changing, but the floor plan as well, so we are continuously refining as things shift. It’s part strategy, part instinct, and occasionally a bit of musical chairs,” she shares.
Frances McDormand’s name tag peeks through from behind a plate at the 2018 Met Gala.
Photographed by Corey Tenold
