Kerry Washington's 2025 Met Gala Look Comes From the Only Designer Who Makes Her "Starstruck"
Once the actress met Jonathan Simkhai, she knew she'd found her Met Gala match.
Welcome to The Close-Up, where the biggest names in entertainment explain the story behind their latest personal style statement.
Some Met Gala red carpet collaborations are born in conference rooms, exhibiting as much chemistry as a blank Post-It note. Kerry Washington's "Black dandy, white hat" moment by Jonathan Simkhai is decidedly not one of those Met Gala looks. Even the duo's design origin story is tailored for a movie treatment: They had a fashion meet-cute at another star-studded event.
Washington had worn Simkhai's designs for years without meeting the West Hollywood-based designer. Still, she felt she knew him simply by "walking around in his vision" for years. Simkhai, of course, recognized Washington from her various films and TV series.
When they finally connected at the annual Academy Museum Gala in Los Angeles, it felt like red carpet fate. "We just connected and had a really nice chemistry," Simkhai tells me, sitting with Washington in their Met Gala prep-suite. "I reached out to Kerry and asked her if she'd be my date for this event. Fortunately, she said yes, and here we are."
"I don't really get starstruck anymore with actors at this point in my career, but with designers, I'm like, oh my God, you're, you're the guy on the label," Washington says. "It was so fun to meet him and to now be going together today is even more fun."
Naturally, the pair was equally excited to embrace the "Tailored for You" dress code, which honors "Superfine: Tailoring Black Style" and the legacy of Black dandyism. Compared to Washington’s usual red carpet appearances, helping create a moment that centers Black styling, tailoring, and fashion felt like a meaningful shift, especially knowing that “designers from all over the world and from all different backgrounds are paying homage to this tradition.”
Simkhai immediately considered how his signature dichotomy of structured pieces and soft, sensual details could combine in a custom moment for Washington. "With the theme's emphasis on tailoring, we wanted to create something that felt structured and tailored but also sensual, feminine, and really just empowering."
They pulled together a shared mood board: Kia Chenelle's photograph “The Waiting Man I,” a 1996 Helmut Newton image from Vogue Paris, and various shots of music and style legend Erykah Badu. This inspired two coordinating white looks for the designer and his Met Gala guest.
Kerry Washington traded a traditional gown for a blazer with a completely open back and a folded, almost cowled plunge neckline in front. It contrasts with a crinoline sheer skirt—made from fabric that typically functions as the petticoat beneath a dress, Simkhai explains. "Because the concept is 'Superfine tailoring,' I really wanted to highlight the construction that's used for some of these couture pieces."
He complemented her with his own ivory suit, layered with a cummerbund on top and a pale yellow pocket square.
Washington’s sheer skirt wasn’t originally intended as a peekaboo moment. But as the look evolved from sketch to first-draft garment, “I met Kerry in L.A. for the first fitting, and we made the skirt in a sheer fabrication as a prototype,” Simkhai says. Her instant love for the translucent fabric made him rethink the original plan for an opaque, embroidered version.
It’s the kind of creative flexibility Washington felt comfortable requesting as the pair bonded over parenting and life in L.A. during fitting sessions. She’s just as impressed with Simkhai’s character outside the studio as she is with his collaborative spirit within it—and that mutual respect is reflected in every exquisitely crafted detail.
“Sometimes there’s tension between a designer’s vision and the willingness to let others into that process,” Washington says. “Jonathan approaches it with so much generosity and openness, yet he’s still clear about his preferences, values, and what excellence looks like to him.”
Simkhai, likewise, was impressed with Washington's curiosity and expertise. She respected the Simkhai aesthetic, but also knew when to ask for her own alterations. "I was very shocked and impressed with her understanding of garment construction," he says. "Her passion and her curiosity with fashion was really beautiful: She works in a completely different field, she's also wearing couture pieces all the time, but that love for construction, that curiosity made this project that more exciting."
Before we hang up, the pair makes one thing clear: their friendship is just one thread in the larger tapestry of the Met Gala Met Gala process. Behind coordinating looks like theirs is a full team of seamstresses, stylists, assistants, and beauty pros working in sync.
“We’ll be out there taking pictures,” Washington says, “but it’s a village that got us here.”
Photographer Ava Van Osdol | Stylists Rob Zangardi and Mariel Haenn | Hairstylist Takisha Sturdivant-Drew | Makeup Artist Billie Gene | Nail Artist Mo Quin
