The cast of the Broadway revival of The Wiz swapped their costumes for red-carpet looks by Tanner Fletcher’s Tanner Richie and Fletcher Kasell at the Met Gala tonight. It’s the first time any of the musical’s four stars—Nichelle Lewis, Avery Wilson, Phillip Johnson Richardson, and Kyle Ramar Freeman—have attended fashion’s party of the year, and it marks Tanner Fletcher’s Met Gala debut too.
“We are so excited to take this step in our career,” Kasell tells Vogue. “The year before we started the brand, Tanner and I went to watch guests arrive at the ‘Camp: Notes on Fashion’ exhibit. The streets were packed, people were climbing trees, and we saw Kacey Musgraves arriving.” The duo has come a long way since that 2019 night. In fact, they dressed Musgraves herself for her hosting duties on Saturday Night Live last month.
The Met Gala’s Garden of Time dress code is well suited to the designers’ aesthetic. Known for their whimsical and nostalgic take on 1950s styles, they don’t skimp on florals or frippery, and their spring 2024 runway show featured their first-ever ball gown.
At their new Chelsea showroom, the cast was greeted by a plethora of tulle, silk, and ruffles in shades of pink, white, and black. For the gown Nichelle Lewis, a.k.a. Dorothy, wears, they referenced the JG Ballard story The Garden of Time. “The dress has many layers—the first is a caged hoop skirt made of boning, then two layers of ruffled tulle, and the top layer is velvet,” says Richie. “The black velvet references the main character’s garb in the short story.” The Lion Kyle Ramar Freeman’s outfit also references the tale through its color scheme. According to the designers, “the light pink color symbolizes the growth period from The Garden of Time, which represents a flourishing flower garden that is energized and full of life.” Its dramatic trailing cape required 28 yards of fabric, yet underneath it all is a simple double-breasted suit so Freeman can dance all night long at the after-parties.
For the Tin Man Phillipp Johnson Richardon, they made modern-day updates to a 1970s leisure suit, cutting it in ruffled ivory velvet and finishing it off with a posy holder brooch to hold fresh flowers at the lapel. And for the Scarecrow Avery Wilson’s ensemble, they used Tanner Fletcher’s signature pussy bow, exaggerating the design so its lengths drape down to the ground.
Designing outfits for the stars of The Wiz and for Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri was a challenging but thrilling opportunity that they couldn’t pass up. “We loved working with the cast,” say Richie and Kasell. “It’s always fun to collaborate with other forms of creatives. It inspires us to bring theatricality into our work, our shows, and most importantly our messaging.”
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