There are two ways to experience the Met Gala. There’s the version the world sees—flawless red-carpet arrivals, perfectly lit, streamed in real time. And then there’s the version Isabel Tan lived last Monday: five blocks from the steps of the Met, inside The Mark Hotel for the Instagram Watch Party, where the real show happens before the show.
Isabel—known online as Prettyfrowns—has built a devoted following by making fashion feel both aspirational and lived-in. Originally from Singapore, she brings a genuinely global eye to New York’s style scene, and her OOTDs, street-style snapshots and GRWM videos have earned her a front-row seat at Fashion Week and collaborations with houses like Louis Vuitton, Prada and Dior Beauty. But even for someone this plugged into fashion’s inner circle, last Monday had its surprises.
“We were warned to arrive before 3 p.m.,” Tan says. “Otherwise, you’d end up walking all the way to the penthouse because the elevators would be packed with celebrities heading to the Gala.” This was her first visit to The Mark, and she wasted no time understanding why it’s the best people-watching spot in New York on Met Monday. The lobby was its own spectacle, and for someone who has spent years capturing the magic of New York street style, she knew exactly how to soak it in.
But Tan almost didn’t make it into her own look in time. Her hat—the undeniable centerpiece of her ensemble—had been stuck in customs after shipping from the UK. “It literally arrived five minutes before I got into my Uber,” she laughs. The piece came from Jane Taylor London, a milliner whose sculptural work felt perfectly aligned with Tan’s signature polish. Her stylist worked magic to get it released just in time, pairing it with a draped Cult Gaia dress and Manolo Blahnik heels. Custom drama, courtesy of the postal service.
On beauty, Tan was intentional, which, for someone who treats makeup as an extension of the outfit, is saying something. “Since the hat covered part of my face, I wanted the makeup to bring the focus back to my eyes with a bold, smoky eye that still peeks through the feathers,” she explains. “I always think about beauty the same way I think about accessories. It changes depending on the overall feeling of the look.”
As for the looks she couldn’t stop thinking about from the carpet: Emma Chamberlain in Mugler, Sabrina Carpenter in Dior by Jonathan Anderson, Gracie Abrams in Chanel and Sombr in Valentino—all “sculptural, all intentional, all deeply on theme.”
The insider moments were their own reward, and they’re the part Tan is still thinking about a week later. Anyone who arrived late to the party ended up crossing paths with Paul Anthony Kelly in the stairwell. And from the rooftop of the building across the street, Tan caught a sneak peek of Hailey Bieber mid-shoot—a flash of her gold-and-blue Saint Laurent gown—before the rest of the world got a glimpse.
