Karla Welch was only supposed to style two people for the 2026 Met Gala. She ended up with six: Sarah Paulson, Tessa Thompson, Olivia Wilde, Greta Gerwig, Karlie Kloss, and Misty Copeland.
Welch is the fashion equivalent to a Swiss Army knife. Known as a prolific celebrity stylist, she has
done a bit of everything, be that styling Kamala Harris while she campaigned alongside Joe Biden and during the better part of her vice presidency; founding the Period Company, a period underwear brand; and starting an app, Wishi, a personal-styling service that connects users with experts for wardrobe advice and shopping recommendations. Welch is also behind some of today’s best-dressed women: Paulson, Thompson, Tracee Ellis Ross, and Renate Reinsve.
Just over one week before this year’s Met Gala, Welch posted a TikTok—she’s an enthusiastic social media user—in which she said she’d just been informed that one of her A-list clients was attending the festivities. How does one pull off the presumably gargantuan task of putting together a Met-worthy look in a week?
I called Welch up last Wednesday to find out—and to demystify other aspects of Met Gala dressing.
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed.
José Criales-Unzueta: Karla, let’s start with a vibe check. How are you feeling? You posted about a client confirming last-minute.
Karla Welch: I’m a lot of Met Balls in, so it’s kind of the same every year. You kind of feel like you have it under control, but you also know you’re not actually getting it done until the weekend before. We roll at the last minute because that’s how it is. The Met is a really specific task. You just get as ready as you can. But I always like to say this ain’t my first rodeo.
Let’s myth bust a little bit here, because there is a lot of lore around dressing for the Met. It’s all very fair and a lot of it is based on information passed on from tweet to tweet. What do you think people understand the least about this process?
I mean, all of it [laughs]. In one of your headlines you asked if we still needed stylists. I thought, No one who knows a stylist is going to write that headline.
Well, that’s interesting because that headline from after the Oscars was to spark conversation. The story itself was about the few celebrities not employing stylists, but even when they say they don’t, they are. The conclusion was that stylists are only becoming more important. Some of my best friends are stylists. I called a few of them up to give them a warning before that hit their inboxes.
Okay, good [laughs]. I’m glad to know. I love that you prewarned [them], that’s hilarious.
Okay, back to myth busting?
I always feel like the Met is the designer’s night. And that’s how I approach it, because obviously I love designers. Designers are like my rock stars. I get a thrill! Yesterday I was talking to Michael Kors in a video fitting. And I was like, “Michael Kors, the fucking icon.” Even 20 years into my career, I put myself together for Michael Kors because I can’t have Michael see me not look good. It’s a thrill. I always think that this is the designer’s night to shine. So if I am recommending to my client, we have to remember it’s about them. A lot of designers are going to let the talent go ham, of course, with the stylists. And that’s fun. But I kind of love to align to bring their vision to life. If you’re going with Thom Browne, you’re getting a Thom Browne look. You ain’t getting your black slip.
I think a lot of times the people watching the carpet just think that the stylist has made the dress. I think that’s one myth buster, but also that’s just maybe my approach. I really want to retain the identity of the designer. I don’t just think about how the client looks on the carpet.