Practicing Met Gala Red Carpet Poses With Tommy Dorfman

The Met Gala’s grand red carpet presents a challenge to the A-Listers who walk it.  Instead of walking along a flat surface, stars must climb up the museum’s grand staircase—which is over 13 feet high and 154 feet long—all the while hitting their poses and showing off their custom garments for the array of photographers. Harder than you’d think. So, ahead of the grand bash tonight, Vogue called up one stylish attendee, Tommy Dorfman, to do some practice poses on the Met steps. 

Given this will be Dorfman’s first-ever Met Gala, she was the perfect star to do a quick red carpet rehearsal with. Turns out, though, the actor is no stranger to hanging out on the Met steps. “I used to come to the Met all the time in college. I studied at Fordham University on the Upper West Side, so this was my between-class lunch spot,” Dorfman tells Vogue. “I also grew up watching Gossip Girl, so the steps of the Met are probably one of the more formative pieces of New York architecture that I’ve ever seen.” Still, Dofrman admits that hanging out on the steps and posing on them are two very different things, so she was grateful for the pre-trial run. “I’m really glad I got this dress rehearsal in, so I don’t fall on my face,” laughs Dorfman. “Any steps are nerve-racking for me as a clumsy person, so this is just that times a million.”

Just five days before the Met, then, Dorfman and photographer Hunter Abrams took over the Met steps: crowds and all. Dorfman wore a draped, floor-length gown by Loewe that she has been eyeing for months. “I got to go to the [Loewe spring 2022] show in September, and when this dress hit the runway, I started crying,” says Dorfman. While beautiful, the design’s breezy fabric and cutouts were tricky to navigate on a windy day—all the better to practice with. Dorfman says she isn’t afraid of tackling a difficult garment. “I’m deeply obsessed with the Gilded Age, so for this to be my first Met feels like a beautiful alignment. I love anything cinched, corseted, and to the floor,” she says.

Dorfman says she feels a little more prepared for the Met tonight after doing her best twirls and over-the-shoulder smolders. “Thank god I had time to figure out my angles and how to look over the shoulder properly,” Dorfman says. Her goal is to approach the night with patience and presence. “Breathing and taking your time [is key],” she says. “I’m going to try and treat this carpet as a meditation—focus on one step at a time, hit my angles, and make my designer proud. It’s always about telling a story, which helps me then feel less nervous because it’s no longer about me.”

As for what Dorfman will be wearing tonight? “I’m a big fan of the designer I’m wearing. I used to sell his clothes when I worked at Dover Street Market in 2013,” she hints. “Without revealing too much, I’ve never worn anything with a train before this Met, so I’m really excited about that.” She looks forward to serving up a full fashion fantasy. “To be included in a night honoring such talented designers and artists is just thrilling for me,” says Dorfman. “Fashion, to me, has always been art—it’s a form of expression, creativity, and storytelling—and the Met exemplifies a perfect community love for that art. I’m also just deeply nervous.” Given how she completely owned the Met steps on her trial run, she shouldn’t be. See her best poses below. 

Visuals editor: Landon Phillips
Fashion editor: Taylor Angino