Liberty stars’ reveling in Met Gala highlight included Anne Hathaway recreation invitation

Sabrina Ionescu didn’t know what to anticipate Monday as she was preparing for the Met Gala at The Surrey, a luxurious lodge on the Higher East Aspect, alongside her Liberty teammates Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones.

The three WNBA champions together with Liberty proprietor Clara Wu Tsai are clearly no strangers to the highlight. They’ve been in rooms with vital individuals.

However the Met Gala is completely different.

It’s the most important night time in vogue and a magnet for celebrities. Every year on the primary Monday in Could, the most important names in vogue, artwork, sports activities and cultural affect descend on New York Metropolis and flock to the most important artwork museum within the Americas.

It’s extremely unique, too. With out an invitation, a single ticket prices $75,000 to attend.

“You hear about it,” Stewart mentioned, “and we were able to actually be a part of it.”

Monday marked the third straight 12 months WNBA gamers graced the occasion.

Brittney Griner grew to become the primary WNBA participant to attend in 2023 — solely months faraway from being launched from a Russian jail. And Angel Reese made her Met Gala debut final 12 months.

However the Liberty’s illustration Monday night time was one other signal of the magnification of ladies’s basketball.

“[Attending the Met Gala] just means that we are breaking more into that space of notoriety and that the game is growing,” Jones mentioned Wednesday. “I’m happy that I’m in the WNBA in this era, where we can kind of be a part of things that are so cool obviously. And … get that recognition and know that as female basketball players, we’re able to enter those spaces that we’ve seen our male counterparts enter before.”

The entire day felt like a whirlwind.

They arrived on the lodge round 9 a.m. however didn’t depart for the blue carpet that drapes over the long-lasting steps main as much as the museum till after 5 p.m.

Every wore customized couture outfits, designed by Sergio Hudson and styled by Courtney Mays, that had been months within the making and tailor-made to this 12 months’s theme: “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style.”

Strolling the carpet was considerably nerve-racking. Blinding lights flashed from each course because the gamers took turns posing at varied stops alongside the best way to the museum entrance.

On the high of the steps, they had been greeted by Pharrell Williams and Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour.

As soon as inside, they walked via the brand new exhibit, centered on black dandyism that’s set to open to most of the people Saturday. Additionally they chatted with different attendees.

Stewart was most excited to see Rihanna, A$AP Rocky and Wintour. She even invited Anne Hathaway to a Liberty recreation this season.

Ionescu fangirled over Omar Sy from the Netflix collection “Lupin.” She additionally met Serena Williams and Simone Biles, whom she known as “female icons” that she’s admired for a very long time now.

Jones chatted with Megan Thee Stallion, Zendaya and Coco Jones.

“I was talking to everybody,” Jones mentioned. “Honestly I was walking around the cocktail session just yapping.”

The social gathering moved into a bigger corridor, the place dinner was served. Usher and Stevie Marvel had been this 12 months’s performers.

All in all, it was an unbelievable night time.

“The best part was being able to share with my teammates as well as Clara,” Ionescu mentioned. “It was beautiful from kind of start to finish. I was just happy to just be there, kind of be able to just see everyone I’m normally seeing on TV, actors, actresses, singers, artists, designers, and just being able to be all in a room with powerful people who kind of put their stamp on what it is they’re doing and their profession is special.”