An exclusive look inside the 2023 Met Gala

Tonight, the stars descended on the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, ready for the 2023 Met Gala—but not before posing for the crowds of photographers lining the steps. This year, the cream-colored carpet was decorated with swirling blue and red ribbons, a nod to the “serpentine line” that underpins the theme of the exhibition, “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty.”

The paparazzi flashes may see the red carpet arrivals beamed around the world, but what happens when the celebrities actually step into the museum remains tightly under wraps. The only exception? The roving lenses of Vogue photographers Hunter Abrams and Flo Ngala. This year, the pair made their way around the museum’s galleries to capture the likes of Kristen Stewart taking a twirl in her playful twist on a Chanel suit, Phoebe Bridgers and Emily Ratajkowski striking a pose, and even Ice Spice taking a break to rest on a sofa in her sequined Balmain gown.

Related: Met Gala 2023: The best looks from this year’s red carpet

Then it was on to the museum’s American Wing, where guests caught up over champagne in the imposing shadow of the Second Branch Bank of the United States. Here, the evening’s hosts—Anna Wintour, Roger Federer, Dua Lipa, Michaela Coel, and Penélope Cruz—reunited, while models Imaan Hammam, Irina Shayk, and Quannah Chasinghorse stopped for a catch-up at one of the white linen-topped tables.

Scroll on for all of Abrams and Ngala’s fly-on-the-wall photos of the Met Gala.