Kate Moss
When I first met Marc, I remember thinking that he was so cool, so cute. I walked in his Perry Ellis show in 1992, that historic collection that got him fired but was later celebrated as way ahead of its time. All the major girls were there; it was really exciting, and you could feel a buzz in the air. In London we had our own version of grunge that my friends and I were all wearing, so when I saw the collection I wasn’t shocked. It was more like relief. Like, Someone else gets it. Marc is always pushing the boundaries of what is new.
Everybody rallied around Marc when he started his own collection. We would get dressed and do hair and makeup in one place, then we would run through SoHo and do the show in another place. They were very exciting times. We knew that he was amazing, so we all supported him. Marc was always more than a colleague.
When I hosted the Met Gala in 2009 with Marc [for “The Model as Muse”], it was like an out-of-body experience. I felt like we were naughty children rebelling against the grown-ups. The gold dress with the turban became sort of an iconic outfit for me. I think a lot of Marc’s success has to do with his knowledge of fashion history and how he always takes the past and puts it into the present. We used to have so much fun and so many laughs, and we still do. —Kate Moss
Sofia Coppola
I met Marc when I was in my early 20s. I was maybe 21 when his grunge collection came out, and I was in New York on a trip with my mom, and I said, “I really want to visit Perry Ellis and check out this designer.” And then Marc happened to be there, and we started talking and hit it off. I spent a lot of time in New York in my 20s—there was a period when the MTV Awards and Halloween and Fashion Week were all around the same time in October. So it was fun to come to New York for the week and see friends and pop into all those worlds. Marc dressed me for a lot of occasions but was always easygoing about me picking whatever I felt like.
I have gone to The Met so many times with Marc—we went a bunch of years in a row—and I can’t really remember the first time; they all blur together. I am old-school enough that I don’t think of the Met Gala as a costume party. It used to just be a black-tie thing—not something where people dress to the theme of the exhibit. In the past, there was more of a mix of traditional uptown socialites—the ones who were the original supporters of the Costume Institute. Seeing Deeda Blair was a highlight for me. She’s just so striking; her hair is always very, you know, recognizable. I got to know her a little bit through friends after that, but I think I met her for the first time at the Met Gala. I was so impressed by her elegance. So to me it’s more like a date uptown where you dress up and put on your jewelry—like grown-up prom. Marc would come pick me up; he has a really nice car, and he’s a really good date. He’s a gentleman.
It’s gotten amped up and louder through the years. I think one of my most memorable experiences was smoking in the bathroom with Marc and Phoebe Philo and Thomas, my husband—it was like high school, sneaking cigarettes in the bathroom. It was the most fun party, but that’s definitely not allowed anymore. After, we would go to Bemelmans Bar with Rachel Feinstein and John Currin—they’re always so lively.
I mostly remember The Met through outfits. For 2004’s “Dangerous Liaisons: Fashion and Furniture in the 18th Century” theme, I wore a bias-cut slip dress in gold lamé. That definitely was Marie Antoinette–era inspiration, because I visited The Met for the costumes for my film around that time, and it stayed in my mind. My favorite outfit was the one I wore to 2013’s “Punk: Chaos to Couture.” Everyone was in big elaborate gowns, and I was happy to be in lamé pajamas. I think Marc’s favorite was the beaded gold dress I wore to 2017’s “Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Art of the In-Between.” Marc knows I love a T-shirt dress, so he made me a glamorous, fancy version made out of tiny gold beads! It felt dressed up but still easy. —Sofia Coppola
Keke Palmer
I think the reason Marc’s designs make him such a talent is because he ushered in this different view of modern fashion that had a sense of edge and fun to it. I don’t think that always existed. The attitude and personality just added another layer to American fashion that was a bit cooler than what was out there. I first became aware of him because of a really popular satchel bag in the mid-2000s that I loved. But then when we worked together for the “Sleeping Beauties” Met Gala in 2024, I had a fabulous experience. The outfit we put together was really special, very in keeping with the theme: a sheer silk tulle gown with antique beaded embroidery and what felt like millions of sequins. I joked at the time, “The sequins are me, I am the sequins.” It took all day to assemble, and the work continued until the moment I was on the red carpet.
It was my third time at the Met Gala, but going with Marc, I felt that I really learned and figured out what the Met Gala is all about. Talking with him over dinner really allowed me to understand how fashion can be a part of storytelling and how the designers and the talent wearing their clothes are trying to tell a certain story. And so I think my experience with him continued to unpack the way that I view that medium as an artist and as a storyteller. —Keke Palmer
Jessica Lange
I met Marc at a photo shoot many years ago, and I was just charmed by him. It was a lovely day, talking, being photographed, and then I did a makeup collaboration with him and a voiceover for one of his fashion shows. I agreed to those things because I really, really like Marc. Then there was the invitation from him to go to The Met, which I had never thought about doing. This is not the best confession to make to Vogue, but I’ve never been terribly interested in fashion. For me, clothes have always just been functional and comfortable. So when Marc asked me, I thought, Well, once in a lifetime.
I attended the “Charles James: Beyond Fashion” gala in 2014, and I actually knew Charles James a bit, through the illustrator Antonio Lopez. Antonio and I both lived in Paris in the ’70s, and then when we moved to New York, he was illustrating a lot of Charles James’s fashions. I remember going to the Chelsea Hotel, where Charles was living, and modeling the clothes while Antonio drew me. I liked Charles. I mean, he was wildly eccentric. He had an old beagle named Sputnik who lived in the bathroom of his little apartment. It was all very relaxed since Antonio and I were such dear friends. I only ever started modeling because of Antonio, because I was completely broke when we were in Paris, and he suggested it. When I came back to New York and was working as a waitress at the Lion’s Head Tavern, I thought, Maybe I could make a few extra bucks as a model. But I was never successful. I don’t think I ever made a dime.
I think I went for one or two fittings with Marc, and that was the extent of the planning. I’m sure somebody came and did my hair, because that’s another thing I can’t do myself. Hair and makeup, put the dress on, and that was my prep. The dress was reflective of him—elegant, classic, comfortable, easy. To tell you the honest truth, I don’t remember too much more about the evening. Just that being with Marc was a lovely experience. He is charming, elegant, and extremely handsome—a perfect companion. —Jessica Lange
Kendall Jenner
I’d always wanted to go to The Met with Marc. There were years when we came close, but things never quite aligned. When I heard that the theme was Karl Lagerfeld in 2023, though, I felt like Marc could do something super special; there’s such theatricality to what he does. So it was really exciting when we agreed to have that moment together.
It was also almost the 10th anniversary of when I walked his show for the first time, and he basically started my runway modeling career. I was a really shy kid, really nervous, and I didn’t know how I would be received. But he and [stylist] Katie Grand were nothing but warm to me. Sometimes things in the fashion world can get stuffy or heavy, but I didn’t ever feel that way with him—he welcomed me with open arms. I was extremely comfortable at The Met, too, after I finished the carpet. I am pretty tall—five eleven—and with Marc’s Kiki boots, I think I was six four. So as soon as I got the chance after the carpet, I changed into little Marc Jacobs ballet heels. Between my bodysuit and the shoes, it was definitely one of my easier Met outfits.
And it was fun. All of the other Marc peeps were at the table with us—Anitta, Kim Petras, Paris Hilton—and actually my sister Kim was there too. If my memory serves, I was seated between her and Paris, the two OG besties, talking about Paris’s baby. I felt so lucky. —Kendall Jenner