Unboxing a Painted Mugler Gown: Emma Chamberlain's Met Gala Fitting with Jared Ellner

Seeing the Dress in Person

The fitting opens with a reunion. Emma and Jared say they have not seen each other in about two weeks. The pieces arrive in a wooden crate that has to be unscrewed with power tools. Jared jokes that fashion does involve power tools and "elbow grease," and teases Emma that she has only used one as a prop at a photo shoot. Before the lid comes off, Jared asks whether Emma has had a tetanus shot, since the box has nails. Emma calls it "Christmas in May."

Emma says she is "literally speechless," then admits that sounds cringe. She makes a point about why seeing the dress in person matters. She had seen photos of the gown at every stage of its making. Even so, being able to see that it was actually painted is something she says a photograph can never convey. Jared agrees that it is "so much better in person."

As they unpack, the two say they know the dress well but keep rediscovering details. Jared says handling it feels like caring for a newborn. Both say they expect to cry at some point, and both admit they already got emotional the night before while falling asleep.

3:16

How the Mugler Collaboration Started

Both looks in the video, the carpet gown and a shorter interview look, are by Mugler. The pair explain that they met Miguel, the house's creative director, at a Vogue cocktail event in Paris during a past fashion week. His debut show was the next day. They describe a "gorgeous hang" and note that all of them are Geminis.

At that show, Jared recalls, Emma turned to them and said it would be fun to wear Mugler for the Met. The show had a strong mood, and the idea turned into the dress now in front of them. They call the result "so elegant but yet so major." Jared adds that people on Reddit may disagree about calling it major. Emma responds that she doesn't care, because it is major "to us in our hearts."

6:38

The Concept: Art, Painting, and a Creepy Undertone

The finished gown looks hand-painted, and Emma says putting it on makes her feel as though she is in a Van Gogh painting. A notable feature is a set of sculpted hands that arrive tied up in the crate. Jared keeps building suspense about them before they are unwrapped.

Jared explains the goal: something that clearly references art but could also be taken off and displayed in a museum as an object in its own right. Jared points to Emma's affinity for painting, especially more abstract painting, as the starting point. The team made a mood board and held a call with Miguel, someone named Nikki, and the Mugler team. They then received a single sketch. Jared says this may be the first year the two approved a sketch with no notes at all.

Emma connects the theme to her background. Her father is an artist and she grew up in a very creative household. When the theme was announced, she felt this might be the most personal Met Gala dress she has ever worn. She describes her taste as "beautiful but with a creepy undertone," and says the gown captures it.

She expands on this through the way she experiences paintings. A painting that resonates with her leaves her intrigued, with a complex emotion she wants to uncover. She sees the same "subtle complexity" in the gown. It is beautiful overall, but details such as the hands and the bleeding, watercolor-like painting create an edge, a kind of friction.

Jared also stresses the labor involved. Watching images come in during production, they felt the team was putting great care and ideas into the piece, and Jared estimates more than a thousand hours went into it. Jared calls that sense of heart from a design team rare.

5:08

Hair and Makeup, Decided on the Spot

The two had held off on hair and makeup decisions until this fitting. As Emma puts it, they had seen photos of the look, but "you don't know until it's on," so they waited to see what the dress needs.

The main open question is hair. They are considering dyeing Emma's platinum hair brown and brought a wig to test it. Emma says in advance that she loves how her platinum looks with the dress and doubts she will want to change it, but they try the wig anyway. The wig turns out better than Emma expected. Still, both lean toward blonde, with Jared saying "I do think it's blonde." Their plan is to photograph the look both with and without the wig. Even though they like deciding in person, they say, what counts is how it photographs. They describe their friendly debates as what makes them a good team.

Emma says she will "for sure" bleach her eyebrows, though she concedes the look is pretty with brows too. She jokes that Jared hates eyebrows. Jared says that when Emma's brows are bleached, things feel right. Jared's reasoning is that for an editorial carpet moment, bleached brows leave a lot of room for makeup.

8:35

Accessories and Adjustments to the Gown

For earrings, Emma and Jared both prefer the yellow option. Emma thinks rings are unnecessary because her hands will barely be visible.

That leads to a sleeve adjustment. Jared wonders whether the sleeve should sit slightly higher so that when Emma puts her hands on her hips, her fingers show. Emma agrees, and they discuss leaving a small section open there. They try shoes and note that the pair they had planned on may not give enough height. They also consider pinning the whole sleeve slimmer. Emma says she likes it feeling "like second skin."

Jared suggests stitching Emma into the dress right before she leaves so it sits exactly where they want. That reminds Emma of an earlier event, when they had to cut her underwear seconds before going out because the lines were showing, even though she needed to wear some. Once the gown is fully on, Jared takes photos. Both say they are choked up and very proud of the dress, and Emma says she wishes Miguel were there to hug.

10:14

The Interview Look

They then switch to a mini. Emma calls it her interview look, "a little more understated, a little more comfortable." With her hands free, she can handle microphones. The look includes painted shoes. Because each piece is hand-painted, each one differs slightly, and Emma says the outfit is comfortable enough to wear to yoga.

This look has a separate underskirt, and they start improvising. One idea is to tack and bunch the fabric so a visible seam disappears, and both like the result. Jared lists planned changes, several borrowed from the carpet gown:

removing the grosgrain waistband that peeks out from the underskirt, as they did on the carpet dress, for a clean line
removing wrinkles through the shoulders
raising the armpit slightly
shortening the sleeves and possibly taking in the wrist

Jared notes that, for them, this counts as fairly minimal alterations.

11:50

What Remains Before the Carpet

The video ends on logistics rather than a final verdict. Jared says they need to work out how long the tailoring will take. They hope to hold another fitting the next day, or Sunday if not, and then wait. Emma describes her role until then as studying up, protecting her peace, and resting. At the end they remember they have another fitting that same night.

Several decisions shown in the video are still unresolved at this point: blonde versus brown hair (leaning blonde), the final shoes, the sleeve and finger opening, and how to handle the mini's skirt.