You never forget your Met gala debut, and 2021 saw a host of new attendees grace the Metropolitan Museum of Art. One of the brightest stars to join the fun was K-pop superstar Rosé. As one-fourth of the record-breaking girl group Blackpink and a solo artist whose album, R, dropped earlier this year, Rosé is pop royalty. Still, even she was nervous while preparing for her first trip to the event. She offered a few tongue-in-cheek predictions about what the night might have in store. “My expectation is for me to totally black out and get nervous and freeze,” she shared with Vogue while getting ready at the Peninsula Hotel. “[Still] I hope that everything is the opposite of that.”
Thankfully Rosé had nothing to worry about. As a Saint Laurent ambassador, she arrived on the carpet dressed in one of Anthony Vaccarello’s slinky LBDs and a crystalized choker covered in lacquered four-leaf clovers for good luck. Once inside, she mingled with Rihanna and enjoyed Justin Bieber’s surprise performance. “I never [thought] I would actually attend one myself,” she said. “It’s almost like Coachella [when they told us], ‘You guys are performing for Coachella,’ and we were like, ‘What, we aren’t just going to watch?’”
It’s an apt comparison. Blackpink was the first female K-pop group to perform at Coachella; Rosé and fellow trailblazer CL became the first K-pop idols invited to the Met gala. The milestone was so major, Rosé’s bandmates shared in the excitement. “Lisa called me, and she was like, ‘You have to take pictures.’ She was telling me to take pictures of the celebrities, but I don’t think I can do that,” said Rosé with a laugh, not realizing those same stars were likely eager to get a snapshot with her.
Director: Keenan MacWilliam
DPs: Frank Apollonio, Xavi Portillo
Editor: Marina Barham
Supervising Producer: Jordin Rocchi
Producer, On-Set: Shaquille Romblay
ACs: Alex Beebe, Tomi Heady
Audio: Dylan Lappin
Filmed on location at the Peninsula Hotel, New York
VP, Digital Video Programming and Development: Robert Semmer
Entertainment Director, Vogue: Sergio Kletnoy
Director of Content: Tara Homeri
Showrunner: Lila Benaissa
Production Manager: Emily Yates
Postproduction Manager: Marco Glinbizzi
Production Coordinator: Kit Fogarty
