Johnson wore a matching pleated skirt with a black mohair tailcoat and bow tie as he walked the red carpet hand-in-hand with his wife Lauren Hashian. This year the theme of the gala was “Costume Art”.
When asked about the look, Johnson said it was inspired in part by Polynesian culture, in which “the most manly men” wear skirts, reports variety.com.
According to the designer, the tailcoat consisted of more than 350 meters of hand-pleated silk ribbon in a “skeletal composition”.
When Johnson was asked how she felt wearing the skirt, she said, “I feel great!” She added: “First, (the Thom Browne team) sent over illustrations and (asked), ‘Hey, would Dez look cool with this pleated skirt?’ And I said, ‘Look, in our culture, in the Polynesian culture, we wear lavalava, skirts.’ The most manly men, not that I’m one of them, but the most manly men wear lavalavas and skirts.”
This is not the first time Johnson has spoken about masculinity. At CinemaCon 2026, while promoting Disney’s live-action “Moana,” he said that for men of all ages, “real manhood” means empowering the women in your life.
“The hero of our story is not a princess. She’s a warrior,” Johnson told the crowd at CinemaCon, Variety.com reports, adding that his role as Maui is to guide and strengthen the title heroine. “To all men of all ages, we must empower, support, and stand up for all women. This is what real manhood looks like.”
Beyoncé is co-chairing this year’s event along with Nicole Kidman, Wayne Williams and Anna Wintour.
Anthony Vaccarello and Zoë Kravitz are heading the gala host committee, which also includes Sabrina Carpenter, Doja Cat, Gwendoline Christie, Alex Consani, Misty Copeland, Elizabeth Debicki, Lena Dunham, Paloma Elsesser, Lisa Malle, Vogue US’s new head of editorial content Chloe Malle, Sam Smith, Teyana Taylor, Lauren Wasser, Anna Weyant, Also included is Aja Wilson and Yseult.
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