Luar’s Raul Lopez on Myha’la’s 18^th century-inspired Met Gala dress

Raul Lopez has been thinking about Black saints for almost a decade. ​“In 2018, the year of the Vatican themed Met Gala, I found a lot of images [to do with that]. I’ve been holding onto them since then,” says the Luar founder, on the inspiration behind the custom Met Gala look he made this year. ​“I just love all these beautiful figures of that era that are Black that I always felt never got their shine.” Sitting on a sofa in his New York apartment, in front of a painting of a dining table by photographer and friend Renell Medrano, Lopez leans forward into the webcam. His movements are animated and his voice full of excitement as he talks about the Met Gala guest he’s dressing this year – someone he holds in the same regard as those revered Black portraits: Industry​’s Myha’la.

“She’s such a sweet girl,” he says. ​“Myha’la loves to play with fashion. In many [fashion shoots], she has short hair. I was like, boom – that’s kind of masc-presenting. She loves an oversized suit and has a deep part in her hair that’s very ​’80s and ​’90s.” The paintings of Black saints that inspired Myha’la’s look are regal, to say the least. Victorian ruffles and armour adorn their subjects, who appear perfectly poised: namely Saint Maurice, an Egyptian military leader from the third century, and Black Tudors. Sculptural, with an ode to New York, Myha’la’s ensemble is Luar to the core.

It was important for Lopez to opt for more obscure references for the Tailored for You dress code (separate from the exhibition theme – confusing, I know). ​“I’m not hating, you know. I love that everybody’s probably going to reference the Black Renaissance, the Cotton Club era, or the ​’70s and ​’30s – but I wanted to take it way back.” He laughs, taking a puff of his vape, before sharing musician and close friend Solange’s reaction to his historical deep-dive. ​“She was like, ​‘Here she goes! She loves the ​’60s – but a 1560s reference…’ I was like, exactly. Get the girls to do their homework. That’s me.”

Though Lopez and Myha’la have never met in person – she’s currently based in London – their communication has been constant for the past month. What was the actor’s reaction to his initial sketches and ideas? ​“She was like, ​‘Whoa, this is so beautiful!’” Tweaks are still being made at the time of our interview (“When [Myha’la] arrives, she’ll try it on for the first time”), but Raul is excited for the public’s reaction to the look, which nods to New York’s ​“Sweatpant Zaddies,” he explains. ​“It’s 100 per cent Italian wool in a greyish shade. Sweatpant zaddies with Timberlands were the inspiration for the colour. The dress has slashes that we built with invisible zippers – very Luar.”

Sculpted to the body, the gown features a sculptural corset top, with a bottom covered in eyelets. Timberland has taken care of the footwear: one-of-one thigh-high boots snake up the leg and stop just above the mini dress’s hem. ​“I feel like if she had gone [to the Met] with somebody else, they would’ve been like, ​‘Put her in a gown.’ And I’m like, no bitch! She’s fab – she can pull off looks.” Suffice to say Lopez’s hands have been full for the past few weeks – but not too full to whip up a look for himself. ​“I wanted to make a suit that’s also reminiscent of that [Black saints] era. It’s chocolate brown moiré. It has slashes, and the bottom of the jacket has geometric shapes. It’s similar to Myha’la’s look, but more masc.”

He, too, wanted to channel the modish people that walk the streets of Harlem and Brooklyn. ​“The dudes in sweat suits with Timbs, iced out with a durag, chains, glasses, watches – the whole thing. To me, that’s a dandy. That’s what I grew up on.” There are flashes of dandyism to Luar, he notes. ​“Dandy, to me, means flamboyance – someone who loves to peacock. I’d never call myself a dandy, but my Metrosexual collection was inspired by dandies.” There’s another career highlight round the corner for the CFDA-winning designer: the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s spring exhibition will house two Luar looks. One is from the Alta Gama SS23 collection, and the other from Deceptionista, the AW24 show that Beyoncé attended.

Now, let’s get to the juicy bits: what is the red carpet – and the inside of the Met Gala – really like?

“My hands are dripping with sweat [on the red carpet]! I’m that person who likes to dress up and be looked at but it gets a little scary.” As someone who’s attended twice – in 2024 with Lil Nas X and in 2023 with Paloma Elsesser – Lopez has since learned that attending with someone who knows their stuff is key to surviving the blocks-long step-and-repeat. ​“Paloma is a model; she’s always in front of the camera. In the car [on the way there], she was holding my hand and was like, ​‘We got this. The downtown girls showing up to the Met together.’ That was a good one – and Myha’la will be the same. We can comfort each other.”