Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Zoë Kravitz host star-packed Met Gala after-parties in New York

Once the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s red carpet was over, the real competition shifted downtown and uptown, where Beyoncé and Jay-Z, Zoë Kravitz and Anthony Vaccarello, and The Standard’s Boom with Grace Gummer and Gabriela Hearst pulled the night into the early morning. The after-parties became the less-scripted side of the Met Gala, where fashion branding, nightlife economics and status signaling were easier to see than on the museum steps.

The 2026 Met Gala took place on Monday, May 4, under the theme “Costume Art,” with the dress code “fashion is art.” Beyoncé, Venus Williams, Nicole Kidman and Anna Wintour served as co-chairs, and the event also carried a family element inside the Met, with Blue Ivy making her Met Gala debut. That set the tone for a night built around spectacle at the museum, then around access and movement once the main room emptied.

Across New York City, guests changed into second looks and moved between rooms, bars and hotel lobbies. The list of partygoers included Zoë Kravitz, Hailey Bieber, Rosé, Kendall Jenner, Charli XCX, Sabrina Carpenter, Madonna, Hunter Schafer, Doja Cat, Margot Robbie, Connor Storrie, Jennie, Hudson Williams, Sarah Pidgeon, Troye Sivan, Olivia Rodrigo, A$AP Rocky, Chase Infiniti, Angela Bassett, Tate McRae, Alex Consani, Tessa Thompson, Paloma Elsesser, Louis Jacobson and Adwoa Aboah. Olivia Rodrigo, who had skipped the official Gala after coming from her Saturday Night Live hosting gig, surfaced later among the non-official guests, underscoring how the evening stretched beyond the formal guest list.

Saint Laurent’s post-Met bash took over People’s bar in Greenwich Village, while another crowd gathered at The Mark Hotel, where Hudson Williams, Cardi B and Ashley Graham were served chicken tenders and French fries from The Mark Haute Dog Cart by KFC before heading out. The hospitality itself became part of the performance: a branded cart in a hotel lobby, a designer-hosted room in Greenwich Village and another party at The Standard’s Boom all helped extend the value of the night beyond a single carpet walk.

Rihanna referred to Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s event as the “only” after-party, a line that captured how concentrated the spotlight had become. By the time the city went quiet, the Met Gala had already revealed its second economy, one powered by clothes, invitations, private rooms and the ability to keep the conversation going after midnight.