Anthony Ramos Takes Us Through His Tommy Hilfiger Met Gala Look
The actor wore a custom, sustainable suit by the American brand to his first Met Gala.
Fashion’s biggest night of the year has finally arrived—the Met Gala. While there are certain stars we always keep an eye out for (Rihanna, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kim Kardashian, to name a few), we might be a little more excited for the first-time attendees. Namely, Anthony Ramos.
The first Monday of May has been full of nonstop action for the Hamilton, In the Heights, and A Star is Born actor. After flying in from Canada this morning, he went straight to get his custom Tommy Hilfiger suit fitted before catching up with his dog at home. Now, he’s hanging out in his hotel room, getting ready in a face mask, and walking me through the process of designing his look for the gala on a gloomy New York City afternoon. “The suit came out so fire,” he says.
All of the Tommy Hilfiger looks made for this year’s Met Gala were created with repurposed materials, and Ramos’ look was no exception. His custom white tailcoat is upcycled from sailcloth, and the rest of his look consists of a white cotton poplin tuxedo shirt, bowtie, and navy silk wool pants all made using vintage deadstock fabrics.
But the devil’s in the details. Ramos helped to add some meaningful symbols to the suit — like his initials on the right arm, his birth year of 1991 on the left side, the year Tommy Hilfiger was founded (1985) on the back of the jacket, and both the United States and Puerto Rican flags sewn in—making the process extremely collaborative. To top off the look, he’s wearing a pair of shoes owned by Hilfiger himself. “Everything was about sustainability and being able to reuse,” he says of the personal touch. “I didn't want it to feel just like a costume, I wanted it to have a lot of sentimental value.”
The look captured the theme of American fashion. “Oh, it's red, white, and blue, baby, it’s all Americana. With the colors, again, the sail fabric, it's all-encompassing,” he says. “You keep the classic, but you just make it new, and that is Americana.”
Ramos grew up shopping at thrift stores in his hometown of New York City such as Beacon’s Closet and Buffalo Exchange, so he’s all about reusing what you own. He also feels a special connection with the brand, as Tommy Hilfiger was a New York City hip-hop culture staple when Ramos was growing up.
“When Tommy started getting big in hip-hop culture, that's what the kids were rocking,” he says. “My favorite piece—it wasn't even a piece of clothing—was the cologne. Yo, I made this cologne last forever and then I kept the bottle for a long time.”
On wearing a sustainable Tommy Hilfiger suit on the red carpet at his first Met Gala, Ramos feels grateful. “It was dope when this opportunity came around,” he says. “Tommy embodies New York, and I'm from New York, you know? I just feel blessed that I could bring my style, my flavor.”
After watching the Met Gala on television for so many years, Ramos is excited to finally make his debut. He’s also looking forward to finally catching up with some friends—specifically Lin Manuel-Miranda and Jeremy Pope.
“I'm excited to show off this piece that this team worked so hard on,” he says. “It's a night of celebration, of celebrating fashion and a celebration of life, really. I'm just really excited to hopefully see some friends and go out and hit that dance floor and just celebrate, and just have that moment.”
The collaboration has been a long time coming, culminating in dapper results. Regardless, Ramos is staying humble and grateful for the success he’s achieved in his career thus far.
“All of these things are a blessing and they're all a gift, all these opportunities and these chances to be at events like this,” he says. “To represent my family and have an opportunity to represent my culture in a brand that I love.”
