Somehow, between starring as Roxie Hart in Chicago on Broadway and maintaining her wildly successful modeling career, multi-hyphenate and V154 cover star Ashley Graham still found time to hit the red carpet at the 2025 Met Gala. Attending with BOSS, Graham wore a gray gown inspired by the evening’s dress code, “Tailored for You,” and the theme, “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style.” She gave V a behind-the-scenes look at what goes into Met Gala prep — for her, that includes a dose of Percy Pigs and coffee while selecting the perfect jewelry and being laced into not one, but two corsets for the night.

“The morning of the Met. I had four shows over the weekend—two each on Saturday and Sunday—so I was absolutely exhausted. I checked into the Mark Hotel and couldn’t fall asleep until 4AM. My team found me the next morning in my compression boots, eating breakfast, coffee in hand, mask halfway off because I kept trying to eat in it.“

“Gabriela Karifa-Johnson, my amazing stylist, came by early to check on everything before glam started. We’ve worked together before, but this was our first Met Gala. Her energy is always so fun—and yes, I was obsessed with her raincoat.”

“Still mid-chat with Gab while glam is underway. You can see Dawn’s assistant taking off my Roxie Red polish—we were switching to a clean nude for the carpet. In the back, Marcello is already mixing Revlon shades for the final look.”

“We started narrowing down the jewelry. I have 18 ear piercings, so Gab had quite the puzzle to solve. She brought what felt like hundreds of options to the first two fittings, and this is what we landed on.“

“My Percy Pigs. Can’t go anywhere without them. Non-negotiable.”

“The Boss team arrived and got the look steamed and ready to go. They made a few tiny alterations since the last fitting. On the right, you can spot my after-party look—we kept it close just in case.”

“This was the tailored top that sat under the corset. I love the break in the pinstripe on the left side, and the little beaded pocket square was a last-minute addition that felt so right.“

“This is the back of the corset before I put it on. There are 32 holes. I counted.“

“More essentials: Percy Pigs (again), Revlon lip oil, an Instax Fujifilm camera I may or may not have stolen from a Revlon event earlier in the week, my monogrammed Mark Hotel robe, and coffee. Always coffee.“

“Gab brought over 60 pairs of shoes for me to try. Sixty. We don’t play around.“

“Marcello applying the Revlon lip I wore on the carpet. We locked it in earlier that week—it pulled the whole look together.“

“This was technically my day off, so I wanted the room to feel calm. With all the moving parts, people kept saying how peaceful the space was. I took that as a huge compliment.“

“Gab taping me into my bra—which, fun fact, was from Amazon. Sometimes the underthings don’t have to be fancy, they just have to work.“

“The Boss design team lacing me into the corset. 32 holes. They were counting out loud as they went.“

“There’s a hidden corset inside the corset. It took three people to pull me in, and yes, I had to hold my breath.“

“Almost ready. The room was packed, so my photographer stood in the bathroom to grab this shot.”

“We had 7 minutes to shoot the final look. We rented a smaller room one floor down for content, so we ran downstairs barefoot—because if you know anything about the Mark on Met Monday, it’s that the elevators are chaos.”

“Right before I accidentally split the slit in my skirt. Had to run back upstairs for a quick fix. Oops.“

“More behind-the-scenes from the photo rush. I love seeing how many hands and moments go into making a single image happen.”

“While the skirt was getting sewn back up, I took some selfies.”

“Marco Falcioni, the creative director of Boss, came by to see the final look. He’s the kindest human, and working on this design with him was such a highlight.”

“A blooper with Marco. No idea what we were laughing about, but this photo makes me smile.”

“Leaving the Mark. What you don’t see is that it was pouring. A few people had to help so the dress didn’t get drenched.“

“In the van on the way to the Met. I couldn’t sit for 40 minutes because I didn’t want to wrinkle anything. Had a Coke and popped some Olly Energy gummies to keep the energy up.”

“Last shot before the carpet. Gab’s assistant is on my right fixing the dress, Edward’s behind me doing final hair checks, and a little hand with a powder puff is ready on the left—because once you step out, you’re on your own.”

“Back at the hotel post-Met. Re-did glam, got into my after-party look, and ate pizza in my TheraBody boots. The second look was originally a full-length skirt—Gab turned it into a bandeau in minutes. Magic.“

“The after party look. I’ve got another show as Roxie tomorrow and the Boss team is coming to see it. Better not stay out too late”