Maggie Rogers Shares the Story Behind Her Met Gala Look—And Her Ultimate Getting-Ready Playlist

It might not be Maggie Rogers’s first time at the Met Gala rodeo, but the Grammy-nominated musician—who is currently gearing up to release her second album, Surrender, in July—still gets the jitters when preparing to walk up those famous steps. “Oh my God, there’s really no way to describe it,” she says of returning to the gala. (Her first outing was in 2019.) “It feels like a caricature of a red carpet I’ve only seen in movies. Loud camera clicks and blinding flashes. Having done the carpet once before, I had a much better idea of what to expect, but anyone that tells you that feels in any way normal is absolutely insane.”

Thankfully, Rogers had a whole team behind her to keep the momentum going. There was her stylist Kat Typaldos, for one, but also the team from Chanel responsible for the fashion-forward two-piece that Rogers wore on the red carpet: a sheer silk organza vest embroidered with pearls and crystals, a black iridescent silk skirt, and a decorative belt featuring a riff on a Greek cross. “This Met moment came together relatively quickly for me, all in about the span of two weeks,” Rogers explains. “I just loved the simplicity of my look. One of the most powerful parts of any outfit to me is the attitude, the way you wear it. The shoes were comfortable. I could breathe and move easily. I felt at home in this look—like a beautiful, elevated version of myself.”

This year’s Met Gala also marks the opening of a new style chapter for Rogers, whose recently released video for “That’s Where I Am,” the lead single from her sophomore album, saw her cavorting around Manhattan in a series of very playful looks from Balenciaga, Chopova Lowena, and Khaite—and featured a cameo from none other than David Byrne, one of music’s greatest style icons. For Rogers and Typaldos, Rogers’s new era is all about finding a fashion formula that feels timeless. “We’ve looked to classic ’90s muses like Gwyneth Paltrow and Chloë Sevigny, who bring that classic femininity with a bit of fucked up edge,” Rogers says of her current style sensibility, with her beauty for the Met—in particular, her kohl-rimmed lids and Le Volume de Chanel mascara—paying homage to that spirit of gentle grunge. “My strong dark eyeliner was a nod to those heroines,” she adds.

It’s a happy coincidence, then, that Rogers’s current vibe dovetails so neatly with the tough and tenacious femininity of creative director Virginie Viard’s work at Chanel. “When I think of Chanel I think of the divine feminine,” says Rogers. “That exalted, powerful, forever chic internal radiance. Everything Virginie creates just feels effortless. It was an honor to be a small part of her world last night.”

Unsurprisingly, though, the most important part of Rogers’s Met prep was the music. First, during the getting-ready process, she took a long bath before swanning around in a silk robe and listening to Cocteau Twins. Also on her playlist was the French nu-disco band L’Impératrice’s “Voodoo,” which she listened to before pulling up to the red carpet for, in her words, “that perfect extra punch.” “Music is all vibe,” Rogers says. “It can communicate so much we can’t say with words and helps give everything an extra bit of sparkle.”