Welcome to The Close-Up, where the biggest names in entertainment explain the story behind their latest personal style statement.
Nearly a year before the 2025 Met Gala, Anna Sawai sat down with Marie Claire to discuss her first time attending a Haute Couture show. Her FX series Shōgun had only recently aired to critical acclaim, but things like historic Emmy wins and best-dressed lists weren't on her radar just yet. All she wanted, she told me, was to "be grounded and be my own self."
Cut to the present: Sawai has had an unstoppable ascent, clinching every trophy for which she was nominated—Golden Globes, Emmys, and SAG Awards among them—and gratefully accepting each one in a gorgeous custom dress styled by Karla Welch. One might think that, after such a sweep, the Met Gala red carpet would feel like a cakewalk. Still, the invite Sawai received to attend the "Superfine: Tailoring Black Style" event on May 5 was possibly her biggest pinch-me moment to date.
"It's something that I never even imagined being invited to. It just seemed like something so far away," she tells me from the hotel where she'll soon dress in a custom Dior suit, paired to opulent Cartier jewelry and a luxe bracelet watch. "Something that I would watch afterwards and follow all the celebrities and how beautiful everyone looks." But now, she's taking part.
The mental preparation for an event like the Met Gala red carpet, she tells me, is an entirely different game. "With the awards, you're stressed out about what happens later, whereas this one, I'm kind of more stressed out about walking onto the carpet and having my pictures taken. I just hope I don't trip!" She laughs, and I assure her that definitely won't happen.
The meaning also shifts. The 2025 Met Gala's exploration of Black dandyism—the aristocratic style cultivated by Black men beginning in the 19th century as a form of self-expression and protest—struck a special chord with the actress. "I think it's a celebration of the designers and my stylist and everyone coming together and making this piece, and celebrating the history of the movement," Sawai says. "As someone who is Asian—a person of color—I know that so many people back then, in my heritage, were very influenced by this movement. So I am so happy that I get to partake in that."
In this theme, Sawai recognized the opportunity to break new ground with her red carpet style. "When I hear Met, I usually think of really big, fun gowns, but then, to me, it felt like we were doing something that would be a little bit more androgynous." She spoke with Welch, and they agreed: it was time to press pause on dresses. The result? "I'm very happy to wear my first suit on the red carpet with Dior."
Sawai went through several fittings to land on her final set, comprised of a strong-shouldered blazer, shirt and tie, and trousers, all in a sharp shade of white. She looked powerful but felt at ease—the balance she's strived for since her first runway show last year. "Even when I'm trying to dress up and be someone else, I still need to feel grounded in my own body," Sawai explains. "And I think that the look we went for, we're still very much on theme, but I'm still like myself."
Standout accessories were where the Met Gala’s signature high-wattage glamour came into play. First, the Cartier jewelry—the house behind Sawai’s often-worn red carpet adornments. She wore a “beautiful vintage ring” and a gold necktie clip, a nod to the zoot suits that were a major reference for the evening’s theme. A gold Cartier bracelet watch provided another spark at her wrist.
Sawai then topped her look with a hat by Stephen Jones, a London-based milliner whose creations have also adorned red carpet moments with Rihanna, Lewis Hamilton, and Kim Kardashian on Met Gala night. Hats and headgear are staples of the Black dandy aesthetic, which Sawai knew she "had" to include.
Before long, our conversation turned to the end of the night, when Met Gala after-party guests typically change into something short and coated in sequins. Sawai says she and Welch had fittings for a second look, but ultimately left them on their hangers.
"Honestly, the suit is so good that we were like, do you want to just take the jacket off and go in the suit?" Sawai reflects. "It's perfect for me, so I want to be in it as long as I can."
Photographer Max Hemphill | Stylist Karla Welch | Hairstylist Anh Co Tran | Makeup Artist Yukari Bush | Nail Artist Mo Quin
