Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Wears "Tax The Rich" Dress at Met Gala

U.S. women’s soccer star Megan Rapinoe had just gotten her beverage at the bar at the edge of the room. She looked back at the throbbing crowd of celebrities packed into the center of the airy Petrie Court, where the Met Gala was holding its cocktail reception.

Even for a world-renowned athlete, one’s first Met Gala can be a little intimidating -- whoever you are, it seems, there’s always someone more famous (unless you’re Rihanna, maybe.) Rapinoe looked for a bit, and suddenly said “Another athlete! I’m going over.” She headed off in the direction of NBA star Russell Westbrook.

Rapinoe, who looked smashing in her bright red silk Sergio Hudson pantsuit with a royal blue blouse emblazoned with white stars -- she nailed Monday evening’s sartorial theme, American independence -- had just been noting the preponderance of big athletes at this particular gala. “We’ve infiltrated,” she said with a grin.

Indeed, in the room and nearby were a tournament's worth of tennis stars — Serena Williams, recent U.S. Open finalist Leylah Fernandez, gala host Naomi Osaka, Maria Sharapova, Venus Williams, Sloane Stephens, and U.S. Open champ Emma Raducanu, resplendent in Chanel. Westbrook wasn’t the only NBA luminary -- there was Steph Curry and his wife, Ayesha.

Gymnasts were in the house, too: Simone Biles made a memorable entrance in an 88-pound embroidered gown with a huge train carried up the museum steps by six men. And gymnast Nia Dennis did an actual gymnastic routine on the steps, to the Brooklyn Marching Band.

But then, the museum was filled with screen and TV stars, too, and musicians, and luminaries of business and politics. In fact, an evening that had been casually billed as a “mini” gala — with the full-size gala to return in May — hardly felt “mini” at all, with 400 guests instead of the usual 550 or so. The cocktail reception seemed as packed as always, the mingling just as energetic.

Also as energetic: the attention from the crowds outside, who packed themselves behind barricades across Fifth Avenue and a block away on Madison, too, several rows deep as arrivals began. At one point, fans had also swarmed outside the Petrie Court’s full-length windows, hoping for a glimpse of the stars, and forcing museum staff to quickly move screens in front of the windows to block their view.

Still, there were some reminders that this was no ordinary gala. The most obvious were masks, though few wore them during cocktails. Guests were also required not only to provide proof of vaccination, but also to take a rapid PCR test, administered by the museum either the day before or the day of the gala.

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