Tony Nominee Maleah Joi Moon Went Full-on Floral for Her First Met Gala
If you're Alicia Keys and you're writing a Broadway musical loosely based on your own life, you can't cast just anyone in the lead role. It has to be someone who can hold their own. To put it lightly, 21-year-old Maleah Joi Moon had huge shoes to fill in Hell's Kitchen as 17-year-old Ali, and she did it so well—like, I'm going to brag about having seen her live on stage before the world knew her name—that she was just nominated for a Tony for the role. Scoring a nom for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical is an extremely impressive feat for someone making their Broadway debut. And as a little celebration, she got to attend her very first Met Gala tonight, wearing custom Collina Strada—the same designer SZA wore on her Cosmo cover. (No big deal!)
The star invited Cosmopolitan behind-the-scenes as she got ready at the SOFITEL Hotel in NYC for fashion's biggest party, and she brought the same “star-in-the-making” energy to this conversation as she does to the role of Ali. She spoke about getting the news of her nomination less than a week ago, who she's most hoping to see on tonight's red carpet, and collaborating on her show-stopping look.
You were nominated for a Tony last week, and today you’re walking the Met Gala carpet. How are you keeping your head on straight?
Taking things one baby step at a time, drinking lots of water, and just breathing through every moment that comes.
What was your reaction when you found out about the nomination?
I was asleep, because I didn't expect it at all. And so I woke up to a million missed calls and text messages. I was very discombobulated. But then I read it online and I saw the news, and I was stunned. I was just sitting in bed with my dogs and my cat. I mean, it's a dream come true. I couldn't believe it.
Broadway is famously dark on Mondays. But you’re sacrificing your night off to make your Met Gala debut. Are you doing anything to make sure you’re keeping yourself well rested, or is the adrenaline of this moment doing the job for you?
It's both! It's definitely both. We had an event last night which was super fun and I was going to go out and celebrate but I'm choosing to be disciplined *laughs* and stick to getting my rest when I can, so that when moments like this come around, I can just be present, awake and excited for it.
How did you get paired with Collina Strada for tonight's look?
Vogue was originally going to style me for the event. But then Collina Strada reached out and said they wanted to style me, which was out of the blue in the best way possible. I'm really excited about this look. I think it's really beautiful and I feel beautiful in it.
This year’s Met Gala theme is “The Garden of Time.” Your dress is, fittingly, a gorgeous floral design. What was the design process like?
I went in for a fitting and the creative director for Collina Strada pulled out, like, a million pieces for me to look through and browse on my own. And we both ended up gravitating to this one dress. The colors were beautiful and I felt like it matched the theme very nicely and I could not take my eyes off of it, so I'm really excited to wear it.
What was the vision behind the glam for this evening?
Yara Shahidi is one of my biggest beauty influences as a coming-of-age black woman. I always think her glam is so beautiful. It's soft, but chiseled. It's feminine, it's gorgeous and dewy and she always highlights her skin very nicely. Yara's a huge influence and I'm always telling my makeup artist, LB Charles, that I want to look just like her.
And for hair we decided to try something different now that I have my short little Halle Berry hair cut thing going on. My hairstylist Monae Everett, who I trust very much, had a vision in mind. There are so many different people putting this look together for me and everybody has a very strong idea of what will look best for this outfit and I chose to trust the people who I know will never let me down.
Who are some past Met Gala attendees you’re hoping to run into tonight?
I have a feeling Rihanna is not going to be there so I'm super bummed about that. But I'm looking forward to seeing Zendaya, Anne Hathaway, and just like... all of the feminine beauty icons and androgynous beauty icons! I love seeing what people bring to the Met Gala and how they inject their own creative voice.
What are you most looking forward to tonight?
The carpet! Just being on those steps. The famous Met Gala steps! I can't wait to be dragging my train across those steps and just breathing in that moment and realizing that I'm here and this is a huge dream come true.
Have you received any advice from Alicia Keys or any other friends or mentors who’ve attended in the past about navigating the carpet?
I was told by Alicia to be prepared to stand for a while *laughs* and to talk to as many people as I can, and to soak in the moment. Alicia also thankfully really likes my short hair and said she's really excited to see how everything comes together.
If you could sum up this past week in one word, what would it be?
Intense! Intense, intense, intense...
See Maleah's look on the carpet:
Photos by Ryan Petrus. Hair by Monae Everett. Makeup by LB Charles. Dress by Collina Strada.
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