Hudson Williams Prepares for His First Met Gala in a Matador-Inspired Balenciaga Look

The Final Fitting: "I Can't Wear This, It's Too Nice"

Williams waits for his stylist, Anastasia Walker, and his groomer, Aika Flores. When the garment is revealed, he hesitates to touch it. He points out the train and says repeatedly that he can't wear it because it is "too nice," adding that he won't use profanity, "but that's what I would lead with." He says he is taken aback because he has never done anything this grand before. The look seems perfect to him, but he finds it hard to believe he will actually be wearing it.

He introduces his team with a joke. Flores is his groomer, and Walker is his stylist who "keeps me bougie and stuff."

1:32

Costume Art and the House of Balenciaga

According to the team, this year's Met Gala theme is "costume art" and the red carpet dress code is "fashion is art." When they heard the theme, they wanted to pay homage to the house of Cristóbal Balenciaga. Because the designer drew heavily on his Spanish roots and culture, they based this piece on Spanish bullfighters.

Williams says he likes seeing an original reference recreated through Pierpaolo's own take on it. He describes photos of matadors whose pants are folded over in a particular way and says that detail inspired the look. He then jokes that he may have just read that somewhere, since he is "super well-read about fashion and everything." Once he has it on, he changes his mind about wearing it: "I want to wear this. I will wear it now."

2:31

Adjusting the Silhouette

The team walks through the changes made during fittings. The look originally had a high collar, which was lowered partly to set off his glam look. The pant was also lowered slightly, which they describe as giving "body," "sex," and a result that is "cool, chic, relaxed." The pant has a wider leg, which they present as a modern take on the matador costume in place of the traditional tighter fit.

The train is new to Williams. He says he usually doesn't have one in scenes, so he needs to work out how not to get lost in it or trip on it, "or like maybe just curl up inside of it and cry." The team reassures him that many people will help him on the carpet and that it will feel natural. They coach him through a walk: stop, pose, turn, look over the shoulder. They cheer him on as "handsome Hudson."

3:51

Masculinity and Softness in One Look

Williams reflects on what the look means to him. He sees the matador as a classically masculine symbol, but says the outfit still plays with softness, shape, flow, and femininity. He likes that all of these exist in one garment and calls that "really cool for just a guy like me." He ends the fitting by noting that a few tweaks remain and that he'll be back once he has had more than two hours of sleep.

Getting Ready: A Day in Toronto

On the day of the gala, rested and excited, Williams looks through his camera roll. He describes an off day in Toronto while working on Heated Rivalry, which he calls "a little show." He visited the Art Gallery of Ontario with his girlfriend, Katelyn. Later they met up with Connor and watched a movie, though he can't remember which one. He says they laughed and had fun.

4:54

The Black Swan Beauty Concept

The beauty look grew out of Williams's love of film. His team calls him a devoted cinephile who said early on that Black Swan is one of his favorite films, and they saw a chance to bring it into the glam. They describe the story as "purity turning into power": the white swan losing its innocence and becoming the more powerful, more tailored black swan.

The hair is styled to suggest a swan's feathers and tail, with a slightly more chaotic feel on the Black Swan side to suggest "freedom and reverence." The makeup is split. A blue side represents the white swan and aims for austere, perfect qualities. A red side nods to the black swan, recalling the red eyes from the film, with some deliberate mess to suggest freedom and chaos.

Williams explains how the pieces came together. He and Flores talked about films they consider high art and agreed on the reference for the makeup. When mock-up drawings arrived, they felt the beauty concepts suited their top outfit options. He admits the swan story and the matador look may not be cohesive "story-wise," but says the team felt they worked together visually.

Downtime and Night of the Hunter

Williams says he is still shooting a movie. In his downtime he tries to read and watch as much as possible, and he has removed social media from his phone entirely. He has recently been enjoying Night of the Hunter, which he first saw a long time ago. He praises it as having some of the best cinematography and calls it "almost perfect." He notes that it was the filmmaker's only film, "his one and done."

Final Details: Jewelry and the Collar

The accessories are Bulgari, which the team describes as a "tasteful amount." They point to one centerpiece, a pinky ring that can show while he pulls the train, and an earring.

The team compares the look with the Cristóbal Balenciaga original that inspired it. The original lacked the small peak of white near the collar, which they feel the house reinvented nicely. At one point they tried losing the white around the collar entirely, but they say it no longer felt cohesive because the white simply disappeared. They spent a lot of time making the collar stand out instead. The stylist concludes that they executed the look and calls it stunning, and Williams is assured he will have a dedicated person to handle his train.

Heading Out

As he leaves, Williams hopes it will be cold inside the museum. The team explains that they anticipated this, which is why he is shirtless, because "he runs hot." He sums up the evening as his Met Gala look, with the train by Balenciaga. He gives a quick plug for Heated Rivalry and asks viewers to support Connor, then thanks Vogue and heads out.