Styled By: Inside Met Gala Mayhem: Stylist Jasmine Benjamin on Pressure, Precision and Power Moves
Fashion enthusiasts everywhere are still on a high from fashion’s biggest night. The Met Gala is undoubtedly the event to be for tastemakers and trendsetters alike. This year’s theme, “Costume Art,” set the tone for event hosts, Beyoncé and Venus Williams, who equally sashayed up the iconic steps of the event, leaving all heads turned and jaws dropped. Still, the glitz and glam of the event are only half of the evening, made possible for savvy stylists who prepare for these moments months in advance. Stylist Jasmine Benjamin knows the stress of the first Monday in May all too well.
“The Met Gala is actually the height of pressure [in] that moment,” says Benjamin. “It’s heightened beyond.”
Some might think that arriving at the event is the finale of overwhelming sensations, but Benjamin says that’s just the beginning.
“The client [and] the artist feel it, but the team feels it [too] because we want to make sure that the artist or the client feels very comfortable,” Benjamin says, who has styled Anderson .Paak and Miguel for the event.
Due to strict protocols handed down by Anna Wintour, only the most elite are granted permission to accompany the celebrity guest inside.
“Even though you’re invited, there are many levels within the invitation of what you get and what you don't get, depending upon the celebrity of the artists at the time,” Benjamin explains. “And once they go into the Met Gala, we cannot enter. So they are on their own. They have to feel 100%.”
While the pressure of the Met can send nervousness into overdrive, it’s Benjamin’s 16 years of experience that has given her the power to muscle through the intense pressure when expectations are at their highest.
Even with a proven track record of celebrity-backed clientele, experts can sometimes experience distress, too. While preparing for the gala, Benjamin admits to having "cracked under pressure numerous times” when the stakes were high.
“I remember one year, we got a custom look. It was the arms of a jacket that were cut too short. What are you going to do in ten minutes?” she recalls while styling Miguel, who was awaiting departure for the event in 2015. “Somehow I figured it out, but it was really stressful because the jacket was kind of ruined by the tailor at the time. I was still very young in my career, so I didn't know how to problem-solve it properly within ten minutes.”
In that moment, she remembers “the pressure beyond” like sitting “on a million.”
Consequently, Benjamin believes events that test your breaking point are the essence of authenticity and the cornerstone of bigger opportunities. During her career, she’s collaborated with fashion houses such as Gucci and is currently on tour to promote her passion project, which spotlights another aspect of her skill set: photography.
Benjamin’s first book, “City of Angels: A Book about L.A. Style,” explores Los Angeles street style throughout various communities, including Baldwin Hills, Compton, and South Central. Rapper YG is also featured in the book.
“Los Angeles has the most rich, diverse culture that people don't know about unless you're an insider in Los Angeles,” she says of the photo book in which she shot all the content herself. “I wanted to showcase what my world looks like, the people that I see every day, the people that inspire me, and the different eclectic creative luminaries that I'm around all the time.”
